Casandra (Cassie) Starback, LMSW

Casandra (Cassie) Starback is a licensed master social worker (LMSW) based in Michigan with more than 22 years of experience in gerontology. She has worked in clinics, residential care communities, and community organizations including the Alzheimer's Association. Cassie focuses on helping people who face stress, anxiety, grief, depression, and the challenges that come with caregiving and aging.

She has extensive hands-on experience supporting older adults and those caring for them, including people living with dementia. Her work emphasizes practical coping skills for life changes, grief, and compassion fatigue. She aims to help people find ways to manage day-to-day stress and to reconnect with meaningful activity.

Cassie uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, alongside self-compassion practices. In sessions she encourages small, mindful steps toward goals that reflect a person's values. The emphasis is on building inner strength and using support networks to navigate change.

She treats caregiving strain, hospice and end-of-life concerns, isolation and loneliness, and questions about life purpose with attention to concrete needs and routines. Cassie positions clients as experts on their own lives and works collaboratively to tailor practical strategies. She invites people to learn together how to move through difficult transitions with intention.

If you want help sorting grief, caregiving stress, or aging-related change, Cassie offers an open, steady approach and aims to support you in finding realistic next steps.

Approaches that support aging and caregiving challenges

Cassie commonly draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, which helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings while taking action toward what matters. ACT is useful when life changes or caregiving duties create ongoing stress and uncertainty.

She also integrates self-compassion practices that teach kinder ways to respond to hard moments. These techniques help reduce shame and burnout, especially for caregivers and people facing loss.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Cassie will talk with each person about goals, symptoms, and daily life, and then suggest strategies that fit those needs. The choice of methods is collaborative and can shift as challenges change over time.

Confirm current session options before booking so you know which formats are available. Online therapy can make it easier to fit appointments into a busy week, limit travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when full sessions aren't possible. It can also let someone participate without being on camera or provide an option that uses less bandwidth. These practical benefits often help people keep steady progress while juggling caregiving, appointments, and other responsibilities.