About Karen
Karen Kelly is an Alaska-based licensed clinical social worker with 13 years of clinical experience. She focuses on helping people manage anxiety, stress, depression, trauma, and addiction. Her approach is direct and practical, aimed at reducing overwhelm so clients can take clearer next steps.
She draws on several evidence-informed methods to match each person's needs. Sessions are collaborative and paced to what the person can handle. Karen emphasizes short-term tools as well as longer-term change, depending on the situation.
Background and approach
In the room she helps people name tough emotions like guilt, shame, and anger. She guides clients through coping skills for burnout, compassion fatigue, and life transitions. Practical work may include building communication skills, addressing codependency, or managing symptoms of post-traumatic stress.
Karen has particular experience with first responder issues and veteran concerns, and she understands the pressures those roles bring. She also supports people working through separation, substance use, and career-related stress. English and French are spoken in sessions.
Her practice offers flexible remote formats including video, phone, live chat, and text messaging. Getting started involves a short matching questionnaire and scheduling. Karen aims to help people feel steadier and more able to handle day-to-day life.
Approaches that translate well to online therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, focuses on clarifying personal values and taking small, meaningful actions despite difficult thoughts and feelings. It can help people who feel stuck by guiding them toward what matters most in life rather than fighting every unpleasant emotion.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors connect. It uses practical exercises and homework to change unhelpful thought patterns and build coping skills for anxiety, depression, and stress-related problems.
Finding the right method is a conversation. Karen works with each person to try approaches and see what fits best based on goals and preferences. Together they decide whether to focus on skills training, trauma processing, values-based work, or a mix of techniques.
Online sessions can be scheduled as video calls, phone appointments, live chat, or text messaging to fit busy lives. Video sessions allow face-to-face interaction and visual cues. Phone sessions use less bandwidth and can be easier during a short break. Live chat and text support quick check-ins or ongoing written work between sessions. These options make therapy more flexible and help people keep care consistent when life gets hectic.
Questions people ask
What kinds of concerns does Karen help with?
What is her therapeutic style like?
How much clinical experience does she have?
Where is Karen licensed and based?
Which languages are offered in sessions?
What session formats are available?
How is cost handled?
How do I begin therapy with her?
What this therapist works with
Also listed
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- First responder issues
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Mood disorders
- Post-traumatic stress
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Traumatic brain injury
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Experience
- 13 years
- Licensed
- Alaska
- Languages
- English, French
We will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you.