Counseling & Therapy Services

We offer both in-person and telehealth therapy.

Our approach to therapy is rooted in attachment theory, somatic awareness, and neurobiology. We believe that early childhood relationships and attachments to adults set a foundation for how we feel about our world, think about ourselves, and interact with other people. We believe that early and past experiences related to how our needs were met, or unmet, the ways we had to act to be seen and heard, the ways our families or cultures expressed emotions, the ways we were treated, the ways we were protected or unsafe, the ways we were comforted or left to take care of ourselves, are powerful. We know that all of these patterns are learned and established through early life experiences and tend to play themselves out as we get older. Studies show that our neurobiology, brain waves, brain structures, and nervous system functioning are all impacted by how healthy or unhealthy our life experiences have been, because we learn from what we see, feel and live on a deep bodily level. From this, we believe that when people struggle, it is never about something wrong, flawed, or broken in them, but rather about what they have lived and experienced and how they have figured out how to cope and survive adversity or trauma, even if those survival and coping skills are not healthy or sustainable. Studies and science show that the therapeutic relationship, and evidence-based treatment approaches can start to re-wire and change not just how we think, but how we feel, how our body reacts to stress and triggers, how we cope, and how we connect with others. There is hope that healing, change and growth are possible!

Karissa’s Approaches

Karissa provides individual and family therapy with adolescents and adults.

Karissa utilizes an array of therapy approaches, but predominantly utilizes:

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS)

  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

  • Attachment-based therapy

Other therapy approaches include include:

  • Interpersonal therapy

  • Somatic work & Experiential therapy

  • Brainspotting

  • Creative & Expressive Arts Therapy

  • Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS)

  • Psychodynamic

  • Motivational Interviewing (MI)

  • Solution-focused (SFBT)

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

  • Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)

Phil’s Approaches

Phil provides individual therapy with adults and adolescents.

Phil utilizes an array of therapy approaches that include:

  • Attachment-based therapy

  • Interpersonal therapy

  • Somatic work & Experiential therapy

  • Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR)

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS)

  • Jungian Inspired

  • Humanistic

  • Psychodynamic

  • Motivational Interviewing (MI)

  • Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS)

  • Solution-focused (SFBT)

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

  • Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)

Coaching

What's the difference between coaching and counseling?
The primary differences between coaching and counseling have to do with the focus of the work---  

  • Coaching focuses on setting concrete goals and being held accountable to those goals.

  • Coaching generally focuses on the present and future, but may explore into the past if it is impacting your ability to progress toward your goals.

  • Coaching is more focused on active change and implementing strategies.

  • Coaching is more about enhancing an aspect of your life rather than healing or stabilizing.

  • While coaching may explore behavior patterns and blocks that may be limiting your ability to achieve your goals, generally, coaching will not explore too deeply the underlying causes.  


What topics are appropriate for coaching?
Some examples include:

  • Making career changes or growing in your current field

  • Increasing personal motivation

  • Improving communication in relationships

  • Reducing stress

  • Developing effective parenting strategies

    My coaching approach is similar to brief, solution-focused therapy.  As a licensed therapist, should we discover that there are underlying issues that run deeper than is suitable for a coaching approach, I can help you identify those issues and decide how you want to move forward.  In situations where there is a clear need to do deeper work to heal past trauma or resolve emotional or mental health issues, we would pause the coaching process and connect you with the right mental health professional.  Your safety and well-being are always the top priority in any work we do, be it counseling or coaching.

    Do coaches need to be licensed?
    Currently, no.  While there are several excellent certification programs for coaches, there are many practicing coaches who are not certified and are not operating under a governing board.  As a licensed therapist, I am held accountable to my state licensing board, and the laws and code of ethics that accompany that license, whether I am counseling or coaching.