Therapy for Loneliness
Loneliness can be deeply painful, especially in a world that prizes constant contact while making close connection harder to find. We work together to understand what's getting in the way for you and build toward relationships that are close and supportive.
Who You'll Work With
Hi, I'm Corinne.
I'm a licensed clinical psychologist (PsyD) with extensive experience supporting trauma survivors and marginalized communities. You'll work directly with me at every step. I run every session and sign every evaluation myself. More about me →
- PsyD, Licensed Psychologist
- Online in 45+ states
- In person in Denver & Santa Ana
You can be lonely with a full calendar
Loneliness isn't only about how much social contact you have. Plenty of people with active social lives still feel profoundly alone, and that experience deserves to be taken seriously:
- You can be in a room full of people and still feel completely on your own.
- Your calendar looks social, but almost none of it feels like connection.
- Letting people get close feels risky, so you keep things surface-level even when you want more.
- A move, breakup, loss, or new life stage left you more isolated than you expected.
- You've started to believe you're just hard to know or hard to love.
- Social situations feel exhausting or unsafe, so you avoid them, which only deepens the isolation.
Those are the patterns therapy for loneliness works on. I've also written about this at length. See Unofficial Minister of Loneliness and Loneliness Is Bigger Than the Holidays.
What loneliness can look like
Isolated in a Crowd
Feeling alone even when you're surrounded by people who care about you.
Difficulty Trusting
Trouble letting others get close enough to know you.
A Social Life on Paper
A calendar that looks full but doesn't feel connecting when you're in it.
Avoiding Social Situations
Steering clear of gatherings because they feel exhausting or unsafe.
Feeling Hard to Know
A sense that you're fundamentally difficult to understand or connect with.
Loneliness After a Change
A move, breakup, loss, or new stage of life that left old connections behind.
Whatever keeps you at a distance can change
We work on understanding the specific barriers keeping you from the connection you want, whether that's old patterns, past hurts, trust issues, or circumstances that have left you isolated, and then build the skills and confidence to close that gap. That might mean working through what makes vulnerability feel risky, practicing how to initiate and sustain relationships, or processing grief over connections you've lost.
Self-Determination Theory
Connection is one of our core psychological needs. This approach helps rebuild your capacity for relationships you choose freely.
Trauma-Focused Techniques
When trust issues are rooted in past hurt, we address that directly, since it's often what's keeping you at arm's length.
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
We work on tolerating the discomfort of vulnerability enough to take the small risks that connection requires.
A Personalized Plan
We build the plan around your history with connection, what has been hardest, and how much you can take on at a time.
How sessions are scheduled
This is how it goes, start to finish.
Free 15-Minute Consultation
We talk about what's going on, what you're hoping changes, and whether we're a good fit.
Intake Session
Your first full session is a conversation. I'll ask about your history with connection, what has felt hardest, and what you want out of this.
Weekly Sessions
50-minute sessions over secure, HIPAA-compliant video, typically weekly to start. We build both practical skills and an understanding of what's keeping the isolation in place.
Adjusting Over Time
As things improve, sessions often move to biweekly or monthly. The pace follows how the work is going, and it can change in either direction.
“Loneliness isn't only about how much social contact you have. Plenty of people with active social lives still feel profoundly alone, and that experience deserves to be taken seriously.”
— Dr. Corinne Votaw-Freer, PsyD
Session fees & insurance
Individual sessions are $225, available to clients in 45+ states through my PSYPACT license.
For a full breakdown of rates and accepted insurance carriers by state, see Rates & Insurance.
Questions people ask about loneliness therapy
Is loneliness something therapy can help with?
Yes. Loneliness is usually kept in place by specific, workable patterns: trust issues, avoidance, old relational wounds, or a lack of practice with vulnerability. Those patterns respond to therapy the same way any other pattern does.
I have friends and family. Why do I still feel this alone?
Loneliness is about the quality of connection, not the quantity of contact. It's entirely possible to be surrounded by people and still feel unseen, especially if vulnerability or trust has felt unsafe.
Can therapy help me build a social life, or is it just talking?
Both. We work on the internal barriers, meaning whatever makes connection feel risky, and on practical steps for starting and keeping relationships, so the work carries over into your life outside sessions.
What if my loneliness started after a specific loss or life change?
That's common, and it often means grief is part of the picture alongside the loneliness itself. We'll address both: processing what changed, and rebuilding connection going forward.
