- CBT techniques
- DBT skills
- Mindfulness practice
About Karen
Karen Garraputa is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) in North Carolina with 25 years of professional experience. She works with people facing stress, anxiety, LGBT concerns, trauma and abuse, depression, and coping with life changes. She also focuses on forgiveness, guilt and shame, life purpose, mood disorders, self-love, and women's issues.
Karen uses straightforward language and practical skills in sessions. She helps people notice links between thoughts, actions, and feelings. Together they look for small changes that make daily life more manageable. Sessions are aimed at clear, usable strategies rather than jargon or long theories.
Her approach draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) ideas alongside mindfulness practices. That means sessions often include examining unhelpful thoughts, testing them in real situations, and learning ways to tolerate strong emotions without acting on them. Mindfulness tools are used to increase awareness of what is happening in the moment.
Karen frames problems as a series of choices and next steps rather than fixed labels. She describes decision-making and change as a process that can feel uncertain, and she works alongside people as they try new ways of coping. Conversations aim to be practical, grounded, and focused on what can be tried between sessions.
People who come in carrying guilt or shame can expect direct guidance on how thoughts and behaviors keep those feelings alive. Sessions look at real-life patterns and build straightforward skills to interrupt them. If you want to explore whether her style fits your needs, confirm current session options before booking.
Approaches used in online sessions and how they fit
Karen often draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy ideas in her work. CBT is about identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing them against real situations to change feelings and behavior. It is useful for anxiety, depression, and patterns that feed guilt and shame.DBT includes practical skills for handling intense emotions and improving moment-to-moment coping. It offers techniques for distress tolerance and emotion regulation that can reduce reactivity and help people stay with difficult feelings long enough to choose a different response.
Finding the right approach is part of the early work. She collaborates with each person to see which methods suit their goals and preferences. That means trying tools, reviewing how they land in daily life, and adjusting the plan together rather than sticking to one method from the start.
The biography does not list specific session formats here, so confirm current online options before scheduling. In general, online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, allow shorter check-ins when that's useful, and avoid travel time. These practical benefits can help people keep momentum while working on guilt, shame, mood, and stress without promising a particular service.
Areas of expertise
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
25+ years
Listed in
North Carolina
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does she work with?
She works with stress, anxiety, LGBT issues, trauma and abuse, depression, and coping with life changes. Additional areas include forgiveness, guilt and shame, life purpose, mood disorders, self-love, and women's issues.
How does she approach guilt and shame?
She uses cognitive behavioral and mindfulness approaches to help people notice how thoughts and actions keep guilt and shame active. Work often focuses on testing unhelpful thoughts and practicing different responses in daily life.
What is her experience in the field?
She has 25 years of professional experience working with adults on mood, trauma, and life transition issues.
What credential does she hold and where is she based?
She is an LCMHC, which stands for Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, and practices in North Carolina.
Does she offer sessions in other languages or to international clients?
Sessions are offered in English. International clients are not currently accepted.
What session formats are used?
The original biography does not list specific session formats. Please confirm current session options before booking.
How does payment work and what does it cost?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, use the crisis numbers.