Susannah D. Kirksey, MA, LPC, EMDR

About

Licensed Professional Counselor in Austin, TX. Works with Depression, Anxiety and Mood Disorders. Sees clients in person and online. Takes Blue Cross Blue Shield. Accepting new clients.

Areas of expertise

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Coping Skills
• Family Conflict
• Grief
• Life Transitions
• Relationship Issues
• Self Esteem
• Trauma and PTSD

Types of therapy

• AdlerianBased on Alfred Adler's ideas. Looks at a person's goals, sense of belonging and early family experiences, and encourages connection with others.
• Art TherapyUses drawing, painting or other art-making to express and explore feelings, with a therapist trained in art therapy. No artistic skill is needed.
• Attachment-basedLooks at early bonds with caregivers and how they shape relationships and emotions now, and works toward a greater sense of safety and connection.
• CoachingGoal-focused work on the present and future, such as career, performance or life changes, rather than treatment of a mental health condition.
• Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)A structured, practical therapy that looks at how thoughts, feelings and actions affect each other, and teaches skills for changing unhelpful thinking and habits.
• Cult Recovery, End-of-life Counseling
• Culturally SensitiveTakes a person's culture, identity, background and values into account, and shapes the work so it fits their life.
• EclecticUses techniques from several approaches, chosen to suit the person and the problem rather than following one model.
• EMDREye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. A structured trauma therapy in which a person recalls distressing memories while following side-to-side eye movements or taps.
• EMDR (Eye movement desensitization reprocessing
• ExistentialExplores life's big questions, such as meaning, freedom, choice, loneliness and death, and how they connect to a person's struggles.
• Experiential TherapyUses activities such as role-play, movement, art or guided imagery to work through feelings in the moment, not only to talk about them.
• Expressive ArtsUses several creative forms, such as art, music, movement, writing or drama, to explore feelings and experiences.
• Family / MaritalTherapy with couples or families together, focused on communication, conflict and the patterns between people.
• Family SystemsSees a person as part of their family as a whole, and explores roles, patterns and communication across the family rather than one person's problems alone.
• GestaltFocuses on the here and now, and on noticing what a person is feeling and doing in the moment, often through experiments such as role-play.
• IntegrativeCombines more than one therapy approach, fitted to the person's needs.
• Internal Family Systems (IFS)Sees the mind as made of different 'parts', and helps people understand and care for them from a calm, compassionate core 'Self'.
• InterpersonalA structured, time-limited therapy focused on relationships and life events, such as conflict, loss or big role changes, and how they affect mood.
• InterventionHelp planning and running an intervention, where family and friends come together to encourage someone, often with an addiction, to accept treatment.
• JungianBased on Carl Jung's ideas. Explores dreams, symbols and the unconscious to help a person become more whole.
• Mindfulness-Based (MBCT)Combines mindfulness practice, paying attention to the present moment without judgment, with ideas from cognitive therapy.
• Motivational InterviewingA collaborative style of conversation that helps people explore mixed feelings about a change and find their own reasons to make it.
• NarrativeHelps people separate themselves from their problems and retell the stories they hold about their lives in ways that feel truer and more helpful.
• Neuro-Linguistic (NLP)
• Person-CenteredA warm, non-directive approach: the therapist listens with empathy and without judgment, and trusts the person to find their own direction.
• Play TherapyUses play, toys and games to help children express feelings and work through problems in a way that suits their age.
• PsychoanalyticThe tradition that began with Freud. Explores unconscious thoughts and feelings, often through free association, sometimes with several sessions a week.
• PsychodynamicExplores how past experiences, relationships and feelings outside awareness shape how a person thinks and acts today.
• Rational Emotive Behavior (REBT)A form of cognitive therapy that finds rigid beliefs, such as 'I must be perfect', and replaces them with more flexible ones.
• RelationalSees relationships as central to well-being. The relationship with the therapist is used to understand and change patterns in other relationships.
• SandplayThe person builds scenes in a tray of sand with small figures, as a way to express what is hard to put into words. Used with children and adults.
• Solution Focused Brief (SFBT)A short-term, goal-focused approach that spends less time on problems and more on what already works and the small steps toward what the person wants.
• SomaticBody-focused therapy that pays attention to physical sensations, posture and breathing, on the view that stress and trauma are held in the body as well as the mind.
• Strength-BasedFocuses on the strengths, skills and resources a person already has, and builds on them to meet challenges.
• Structural Family TherapyLooks at how a family is organized, its roles, rules and boundaries, and helps reshape patterns that cause problems.
• TranspersonalIncludes spiritual experience, such as meditation or a sense of connection beyond the self, as part of therapy.
• Trauma FocusedTherapy for people affected by trauma. Puts safety and pacing first, and helps process painful memories so they have less hold on daily life.

More details

Sessions

Both in-person and online

Accepting new clients

Yes

Specialties

Depression, Anxiety, Mood Disorders, ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, Career Counseling, Codependency, Coping Skills, Dissociative Disorders (DID), Executive Coaching, Family Conflict, Grief, Infidelity, LGBTQ+, Life Transitions, Narcissistic Personality (NPD), Psychosis, Relationship Issues, Self Esteem, Sexual Abuse, Spirituality, Substance Use, Suicidal Ideation, Trauma and PTSD, Veterans

Insurance

BlueCross and BlueShield, Out of Network

Fees

Individual sessions $150, couple sessions $175; sliding scale available

Payment methods

American Express, Cash, Check, Discover, Health Savings Account, Mastercard, Paypal, Visa

Ages

Preteen, Teen, Adults, Elders (65+)

Works with

Individuals, Couples, Family

Communities

Bisexual Allied, Gay Allied, HIV / AIDS Allied, Lesbian Allied, Transgender Allied

Languages

English

Gender

Female

Education

Pacifica Graduate Institute

Years in practice

16

Other offices

Austin, 78704

Education & qualifications