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Find the right therapist for you, based on your specific needs and preferences, all online.
Find the right provider for you, based on your specific needs and preferences, all online.
Discover how starting stress management therapy can support your own journey toward a happier, more fulfilling life.
5 therapists available in Austin
I use a client-centered, strength-based approach and strive to create a therapeutic relationship where you are heard, respected, a...
About
I use a client-centered, strength-based approach and strive to create a therapeutic relationship where you are heard, respected, and encouraged.
Katherine (Kathy) De La Paz is a Licensed Master Social Worker, practicing under the supervision of Nikki Stark, LCSW-S, who is passionate about helping individuals and couples who are struggling with anxiety, depression, stress, and life transitions.
In her work with couples, Kathy helps partners reconnect, communicate more effectively, and move out of painful or repetitive patterns. Whether couples are feeling emotionally distant, stuck in conflict, or overwhelmed by outside stressors, she creates a balanced and supportive space where both partners feel heard and understood. Together, they focus on improving communication, rebuilding trust, and strengthening connection.
Alongside couples therapy, Kathy supports individuals navigating anxiety, depression, and major life changes. Her approach is practical and collaborative, helping clients better understand the factors contributing to distress, develop healthier thought and behavior patterns, and build skills that support emotional regulation and resilience.
Kathy’s therapeutic style is warm, direct, and grounding. She brings over nine years of experience using evidence-based, strengths-focused approaches to help people gain clarity, improve communication, and move toward meaningful, lasting change—both individually and within their relationships.
Education and training
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I listen without judgement, and as a Black woman who grew up in a rural community in East Texas, I know firsthand how powerful it ...
I listen without judgement, and as a Black woman who grew up in a rural community in East Texas, I know firsthand how powerful it is to be heard, understood, and appreciated.
Nikki Easter is a Licensed Professional Counselor with 12 years of experience. She began her career supporting individuals with substance use challenges, and later expanded her expertise to clients facing trauma, grief, anxiety, and identity-related concerns. Nikki has worked extensively with marginalized populations, including those experiencing chronic homelessness, domestic violence, and severe mental illness.
Nikki earned her Master’s in Community Counseling from Argosy University. She uses a trauma-informed, strength-based approach. She primarily uses CBT and integrates modalities like ACT, mindfulness, distress tolerance, and psychodynamic therapy to support healing and emotional growth in clients of all backgrounds.
Nikki believes healing isn’t linear. She creates a safe, judgment-free space for clients to work through fears, doubts, and emotional setbacks. Nikki’s compassionate approach helps you move forward with confidence and clarity when navigating trauma or life transitions.
Working as a first responder in various capacities, I'm familiar with the continuous high level of stress and expectations and how...
Working as a first responder in various capacities, I'm familiar with the continuous high level of stress and expectations and how one event can alter your life.
Kasie "Fallon" Beasley is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) with over 6 years of experience working with adults and seniors who are struggling with conditions or concerns related to stress, anxiety, PTSD, life adjustment issues, boundaries, grief, and depression.
Fallon earned her Bachelor's degrees in Criminal Justice and Victim Studies from Sam Houston State University, as well as her Master’s in Clinical Counseling. She employs cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and reality-based therapy to support her clients. Fallon understands the toll that stress, trauma, and anxiety can take on a person while trying to balance out the complexities of life.
Fallon has the experience of being a first responder in combination with her work experience as a counselor. Her unique perspective and insight into what is required to be 'in the trenches' offers clients a unique and understanding perspective. Fallon looks forward to working with you—finding personalized solutions as a team.
My theoretical orientation is based in positive psychology using a strengths-based, person-centered approach with a focus on achie...
My theoretical orientation is based in positive psychology using a strengths-based, person-centered approach with a focus on achieving resilience.
Jesus Valiente is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) with over 8 years experience in the mental health field. Jesus works with adults and specializes in relationship issues, family conflicts, anger management, bipolar disorders, domestic violence, HIV / AIDS-related worries, men's issues, and much more.
Jesus earned his Master's degree in Psychology from West Texas A&M University. His lived experience and clinical background combine to form the basis of his greatest superpowers— empathy and compassion.
Jesus teaches his clients about the link between thoughts, emotions, and behavior. That means that changes in behavior lead to changes in emotions and thoughts, and vice versa. Where would you like to begin working together?
As I progress in my journey in life, I am determined to partner with people to transform their lives....
As I progress in my journey in life, I am determined to partner with people to transform their lives.
Gay Hunter is a Licensed Professional Counselor with 30 years of experience in the mental health field. She is passionate in partnering with adults to transform their lives. Gay specializes in anxiety, depression, and trauma. Gay completed her Master of Divinity at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. She has been a single mother for 40 years with ample experience in child rearing and being supportive of adult children. Her life experiences coupled with her professional experience enable her to build a partnership that will help you transform your life.
Gay utilizes cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and cognitive processing therapy for PTSD (CPT) along with educating you on the connection between the brain, body, and mind and adverse childhood experiences.
We all go through times when it is beneficial to talk to a mental health professional. Gay is confident that she would be able to partner with you to learn new skills to transform your life. If you are ready to start your journey to transform your life, schedule and appointment with her today.
You deserve dedicated time with a mental health professional — it can be life-changing.
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Thriveworks offers Stress management therapy, a type of therapy that helps people learn how to effectively manage and release their stress through the use of relaxation techniques, time-management practices, and mindfulness, among others. Relieving stress can greatly improve an individual’s mental health, as stress can detrimentally affect one’s emotional and physical well-being.
Stress management therapy functions by identifying the source(s) of stress and the thoughts, emotions, and experiences that are tied to it, then addressing them and creating healthy strategies for dealing with stress on a long-term basis. Additionally, Stress management therapy also helps people discover what warning signs they have that can let them know that they are stressed so that they can be more proactive in managing it.
The effectiveness of stress management therapy can vary from person to person, but some widely used and effective approaches include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), and relaxation techniques.
Five stress management counseling strategies include:
Whether to seek therapy for stress depends on the severity and impact of the stress on your life. If stress is significantly affecting your well-being, relationships, or daily functioning, therapy can be a helpful option to learn coping strategies and gain support. It’s important to assess your own needs and consult a mental health professional for guidance on whether therapy is appropriate for your situation.
Yes, stress management counseling can help significantly reduce the amount of anxiety that you feel.
Stress management treatment at Thriveworks is conducted both in person and online by video. We encourage you to choose the option that works best for you.
For those with low amounts of anxiety and stress and simple goals, stress management therapy can be fewer than 12 sessions. However, for those with intense anxiety and more severe symptoms, therapy will likely last longer in order to effectively treat their stress and mitigate their symptoms.
Everything is coming at us so quickly these days. Emails. Voicemails. Twitter. Facebook. Texting. Everything you ever wanted to know—and everything you didn’t know you wanted to know—can be found on the internet. We take work home with us by responding to messages after hours, then spend our weekends in much the same way—shuttling our children around to various events and activities and catching up on house chores from the week.
It sometimes feels like we can’t slow down and get a minute to just breathe. In fact, many of us are walking around breathing so shallowly that we are fueling anxiety and panic as well as fatigue, headaches, and muscle tension.
I encourage all of you who are feeling overwhelmed and tense, who constantly feel like there’s not enough time to get everything finished, to take just five minutes to sit quietly, close your eyes, and breathe.
Just take five minutes. Five minutes. Breathe. No, probably not the way you usually breathe. Be aware of every breath you take. Focus on your abdomen and feel it move in and out. Take a little longer to exhale than inhale. Count your breaths if you’d like, but just breathe. You’ll be amazed at how much calmer you’ll feel.
How do you feel after breathing deeply? Just a bit calmer, a bit more relaxed and able to handle the day? Erik Peper, a professor at San Francisco State University at The Institute for Holistic Health Studies and a pioneer in the field of biofeedback, calls breathing “the boundary between the conscious and the unconscious.” The way we breathe affects our physical and mental health. Just five minutes of conscious breathing can make a world of difference in how we perceive our challenges and how we perceive our ability to meet these challenges. Conscious breathing also gives us a little more space between us and the hustle and bustle around us. And that can be quite a relief!
Oh, yes…and it wouldn’t hurt to step away from technology for a day here and there, too.
Technology isn’t the only factor in chronic overwhelm, but it is a significant contributor. Think of your phone for a moment. It pings and dings all day long, alerting you to text messages, emails, social media alerts, calendar appointments, and maybe even an actual phone call—or a dozen. Often, we feel we can’t ignore any of these alerts, because many of us use our phones for personal and professional use.
Unlike years past, we don’t leave our work email at work. The majority of Americans check that email at least a couple of times after-hours, which means we never really get a day off—and that’s without considering our various activities. Between professional commitments and our over-booked personal calendars, plenty of folks eat meals standing up, rush their kids through getting ready for bed, and have minimal downtime in the evenings or weekends to simply sit quietly and reconnect with each other.
To take things a step further, being separated from your phone causes anxiety in 70 percent of women and 60 percent of men (Archer). Constant contact with our phones has become so ubiquitous that it’s almost like having a friend in our back pocket all day—and losing that friend is cause for major panic. Speaking of contact with friends, it wasn’t that long ago that our work and personal lives were somewhat separate. Without cell phones, it was common to go an entire work day without speaking to your spouse or friends. Now, to go even a few hours is a rarity, at least for some.
Interestingly, those with “…high levels of technostress act much like addicts—they have to get their tech fix. When they are not plugged into technology or when the computing system crashes, they are irritable, angry, and their productivity suffers. But when they get plugged into all of those high-tech gadgets, people with high levels of technostress feel compelled and anxious to work faster and produce more” (Johnson). In other words, if you’ve got a problem with technology use, it’s a lose-lose situation. Without it, you’re like an addict going through withdrawal, and with it, you’re anxious.
If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, some of the above probably sounds familiar. In fact, just reading about it may have caused a bit of stress. And that’s why it’s so important to seek counseling. Taking five minutes away from all the alerts and gadgets and constant connectivity to sit quietly, breathe deeply, and close your eyes is a great first step, but it’s important to seek counseling for chronic overwhelm. Thriveworks Austin counselors can help you develop strategies for interacting with technology and all of its demands in a healthier, calmer way. If it’s not constant connectivity that’s overwhelming you, but the pile of life demands you’re dealing with, Thriveworks Austin counseling can still help.
Aside from technology, family commitments, including care-giving for children or the elderly, can cause significant anxiety, as can moving, switching jobs, getting married, challenging work projects, even buying a house.
If you are feeling overwhelmed, even if you don’t know why, and you have no idea how to make everything feel manageable again, please don’t hesitate to contact Thriveworks Austin. We don’t have a waiting list, so we can usually see you within 24 hours and would welcome the opportunity to help. You don’t have to live your life stressed and overwhelmed. Peace is possible.
Further Reading Erik Peper. Biofeedbackhealth.org. Ernest H. Johnson, PhD. “Is Technology Stress Overwhelming Your Life?” February 2015. Linkedin.com. Dale Archer, MD. “Smartphone Addiction.” July 2013. Psychologytoday.com.
Includes individual, couples, child/ teen, & family therapy
Includes reducing symptoms with medication & management
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