Gestalt Therapists in Austin, TX

Welcome! I am glad you are here! I have a passion for helping people know themselves better and process their lives and concerns. I work with a variety of people with struggles such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, grief, addiction, relationships, and more. I primarily work from a psychodynamic perspective that seeks to understand individuals’ unconscious motivations and desires that contribute to our conscious life. I am comfortable discussing any issue that you might bring up and can aid in helping you achieve a healthier and more fulfilling life.

Austin Therapy for Girls (ATFG) offers a variety of services specifically for girls and young women ages 5-25. Shayna Feldman Barksdale LCSW, owner of ATFG, has been in practice for over 20 years and has been supervising other therapists for over 15 years. Shayna has a non-judgement approach and helps all ages achieve results towards their goals and objectives set up in the initial session.

Are you overwhelmed? Anxious? Lonely? In emotional or even physical pain? Working hard to care for everyone else and coming up empty within yourself? Feeling isolated in the close relationship you care about most? Therapy offers a safe and confidential place to get some help to develop or perhaps rekindle a lively connection to yourself and your own dreams. If your relationship is suffering, it can help you regain the closeness and intimacy you once had and if you are parents help you nurture your own marriage while raising secure children.

Solutions Over Stress - you have the power to choose. It takes strength and courage to do something different. Through the collaborative process of therapy you will not have to face the unknown alone. Together we will identify the barriers that make it difficult to reach your desired goals and live up to your greatest potential. As your therapist, I will create a safe environment for you to openly express and explore your thoughts and feelings. I use a variety of therapeutic approaches to initiate lasting changes from the inside out.

I provide a safe, trusting environment for my clients to open up and share their experiences without feeling judged or shamed. I take a warm, client-centered approach to psychotherapy, based on the work of Carl Rogers. I believe that one of the most valuable aspect of therapy is for the therapist to have unconditional positive regard toward the client. As my client, I will think the best of you, and truly believe that you are capable of great things. I am positive, non-judgmental and compassionate, and when you enter my office it will be a safe environment for you to be vulnerable and be yourself.

I work with individuals and couples navigating relationship conflicts, changes and transitions, goals, big decisions, oppression, confusion, unwanted thoughts and habits, disruptive life events, and challenging emotions. Whether you are seeking support facing issues beyond your control or within it, we can carve out a safe space to make progress toward your desired outcome. Sometimes life becomes messy or overwhelming and situations are too complex or emotionally charged to face alone. That's okay! You are in the right place.

What I bring to my clients is recognizable and sustainable progress toward the changes they most desire. All you need right now, is to be frustrated enough to be looking for something different. Effective. Real change work requires curiosity, courage, persistence, & vulnerability. The reality is that you have powerful reasons (consciously & subconsciously) why you might feel inclined to avoid or even to resist... changing the unwanted circumstances in your life. With that being said, I understand the mystery of how we end up resisting desired changes, but more importantly, how we can finally make our desired changes start to happen.

The foundation of my approach is curiosity. My individual therapy style is relational, nurturing, and insightful. Whether working with young people or adults, I strive to provide them with individual tools to transform into more openhearted and authentic versions of themselves. My maxim: You can heal so many parts of your life by approaching it with a curious heart and open mind.

As a Queer Hispanic Female, I have a passion as a therapist to support fellow LGBTQIA+ clients with things unique to our experience and lives such as coming out, working through relationships with straight friends and family, developing meaningful, healthy sexual connections with our partners, and general healing with compassion. This is what I love most about this work! I have experience working with adults and couples encompassing a wide variety of topics.

I am a therapist passionate about therapy being accessible to anyone who wants to pursue it. I believe therapy can help us better understand ourselves, our relationships, and the world around us. Our environments and culture profoundly impact us, and sometimes understanding ourselves means unpacking that impact. I am an LGBTQ+ friendly and disability affirming therapist that works with young adults and adults. I work with individuals that have experienced medical trauma, chronic illness, ADHD, Autism, Acquired and Traumatic Brain Injury, stroke survivors, anxiety, mood disorders, and psychosis.

If you would like to feel more at home within yourself, more connected in your relationships, and more in touch with life’s little moments, join me to see if we can collaborate toward crafting a more enriched life for you. I provide an open, warm, and safe place for you to gently and compassionately unfold the layers of self-limiting habits, beliefs and behaviors so you can enjoy life more fully.

As a therapist specializing in teens, I've found the most impactful thing I can be is a non-judgmental, encouraging, and authentic voice. Teens need validation and a warm and caring adult who will work to understand the difficulties they experience. In my time providing these services, I've realized that we never grow out of needing these qualities. In other words, my work with teens has guided me to approach my work with adults in a more holistic and compassionate fashion.

Caseloads fluctuate, so shoot me an email to check availability. Currently providing Telehealth Video Therapy only. I work best with individuals who have been reflecting on themselves and are open to trying different ways of thinking & being. The focus will be on clients achieving stability and a better quality of life.

I am a license professional counselor with experience working with mental health, trauma, addiction, grief, and couples counseling. I am here to walk along your side and see the world as you see it. I believe that with support, people can change their beliefs, thoughts, and behaviors in order to live productively and joyfully. It is my hope to build trust in a therapeutic relationship by providing safe and nonjudgmental therapy.

You've tried everything and it feels like nothing is changing. You need help in treating trauma, addiction, co-dependence or moving through a difficult life transition. I am passionate about helping you examine and discard outdated beliefs and family, societal and cultural rules that bind you. It is my honor and a joy to help you bravely face and work through issues to be able to re-enter your life from a place of authenticity and strength. EMDR is AMAZING! I am trained in the Meadows Survivors protocol and I am a Certified Daring Way (Brene Brown), Facilitator. Call me! I want to help.

I navigate from the belief that we all want to see and be seen well and to engage in complete freedom to be all that we are. As a therapist, my hope is that you will find that here. I practice psychotherapy through various modalities including psychodynamic, attachment-based, somatic attention, and trauma-informed theories. However, my foundational approach is Relational. I believe that if our wounds begin in relationship, they can only find healing within a restorative one.

You don't need to be alone. Through therapy, I help people who seek connection. I help people identify connections between past and present relationships, their body, and brain. Understanding how these interact and influence one another helps empower people to take control of their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Working with a counselor who understands the anatomy and biology of the brain is critical during therapy. Identifying when and why specialized neural systems are activated helps people gain self-awareness, prepare for action, and implement change.

Sometimes there are moments in life when we feel stuck. Regardless of how hard we try, we feel hopeless and lonely. We might be stuck in a negative cycle in a relationship, feeling hurt and alone where communication has become impossible. Together we will figure out what is at the root of this painful situation. We will detect and process painful past experiences as you build your inner resources, feel better, stronger, and in control of your life and emotions. Relational dynamics change as we explore , heal, and reconnect creating a foundation based on trust and deep emotional connection.

I believe that successful therapy starts with a strong, collaborative relationship between the therapist and client. I understand that each one of my clients has a unique story to share and I am committed to listening with empathy and without judgment. My style is conversational, intuitive, and direct with each intervention grounded in evidence-based research.