Kirsten Hughes, LCSW

When your emotions feel bigger, your past won't stay in the past, or it seems like nobody speaks your language, life can feel isolating. My name is Kirsten, and I am a licensed clinical social worker helping children, teens, and adults navigate trauma, anxiety, and neurodivergence. Together, we can make sense of your experiences, work through what hurts, and find a way forward.

I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with over ten years of experience helping children, teens, and adults navigate trauma, anxiety, grief, ADHD, and difficult life experiences. I provide virtual individual therapy that is personal, collaborative, and grounded in the understanding that no two people experience the world in quite the same way.

Sometimes your emotions feel bigger than you can manage. Sometimes the past keeps showing up in the present. And sometimes it seems like everyone else understands something about life that you somehow missed. These experiences can leave you feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, or misunderstood. Therapy offers an opportunity to better understand what's happening beneath the surface and figure out what might help.

**My approach to trauma**

My primary therapeutic approach is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), which can help people process distressing experiences and memories that continue to affect how they feel, think, and respond in the present. I also incorporate somatic techniques, expressive arts, parts work, and approaches drawn from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). I draw from these approaches based on your needs and goals rather than expecting one method to work for everyone.

Trauma can take many forms, including childhood experiences, bullying, school-related trauma, sexual trauma, domestic violence, family and relational trauma, and harmful experiences in religious settings or previous therapy. Sometimes the effects of past experiences are obvious; other times, they show up in relationships, emotional responses, self-doubt, or patterns that are difficult to understand. We move at a pace that respects your nervous system and your story.

**Affirming care and understanding differences**

I welcome LGBTQIA2S+ children, teens, and adults, including those who are questioning, exploring their gender or sexual identity, or navigating social or medical aspects of transition. I offer affirming, supportive therapy that respects each person's identity, experiences, and goals. You don't need to have everything figured out to begin therapy, and you don't need to defend or explain who you are to be treated with respect.

I also enjoy helping children, teens, and adults better understand themselves and one another, particularly when differences in emotional regulation, communication, or neurodivergence make connection difficult. I provide individual therapy and, when clinically appropriate, may involve parents or family members to support a client's treatment goals.

**A respectful space for your experiences**

My background in religion and spirituality helps me appreciate the many ways people understand faith, meaning, and their place in the world. I recognize that religious experiences can be a source of comfort and connection for some people and a source of pain for others. I welcome people with diverse beliefs and spiritual backgrounds, and I approach these experiences with curiosity and respect rather than assumptions.

I provide virtual therapy so you can attend sessions from your own space. I also offer sliding-scale options when available, because I believe financial circumstances should be part of the conversation when considering access to care.

You don't have to know exactly what you need from therapy before reaching out. Whether you're working through painful experiences, trying to understand yourself better, or looking for a different way forward, we can begin with what's happening in your life right now.
Outside of therapy, I'm an avid reader, a mystery lover, a crocheter, and a devoted companion to my two dogs and cat. I'm naturally curious and love learning, whether that's discovering a new perspective on human behavior, exploring a different therapeutic approach, or getting lost in a good book. I bring that same curiosity into my work with clients. I'm warm and easygoing, and I believe meaningful therapy can make room for both honest, challenging conversations and a little humor along the way.