Adults Therapists in Downtown, Charlottesville, VA

I have extensive experience supporting clients who suffer from trauma-related disorders, including intimate partner violence, childhood abuse/sexual abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and loss and grief issues. We will work together as partners in your treatment, developing a plan to process your trauma and move from the role of victim to that of a strong and successful survivor. I also have experience working with clients who have other anxiety-related disorders and now offer online sessions via HIPAA compliant, secure, easy to use platform. Easy online scheduling.

Do you get caught up in negative or irrational thoughts? Are your reactions exaggerated and ruin your relationships? Do you get overwhelmed easily and feel stuck in life? Do you self-blame and be critical of yourself? Together we will identify and explore your intense emotions and experiences that keep you feeling like you're in a hamster well. I provide an empathic space that is judgment-free. My experience includes working with children, adolescents, and adults who struggle with intense emotions, mood disorders, trauma, self-harm, anxiety, and depression.

I am a generalist clinical psychologist. I see clients of all ages from toddlers to adolescents and adults . I have been in private practice in Charlottesville, Virginia for 25 years, providing insight-oriented individual therapy, family therapy, and play therapy.

I am a clinical psychologist with experience providing individual, couples, and family therapy in outpatient and inpatient settings. My areas of interest include working with couples, parents of adolescents, high-stress families, and women with trauma histories. I enjoy working with couples and families to help them find new ways of communicating with each other and their children. I provide comprehensive psychological assessments for children and adults using cognitive, achievement, and personality measures. I aim to make assessments a useful addendum to therapy, psychiatric care, and improved classroom and home functioning.

In my practice, I do therapy with families and individuals of all ages. I also conduct comprehensive psychological evaluations of children, adolescents, and adults , including testing for learning disorders, ADHD, developmental disorders (e.g., Asperger's Disorder and autism), anxiety and mood disorders (e.g., depression, bipolar disorder), and personality disorders. Through my evaluations, I try to help individuals (or in many cases, children's parents and teachers) to understand what is interfering with them living a more successful and happy life. My goal is not to merely identify 'problems,' but also to map solutions via concrete and individualized recommendations.

I specialize in family, couples, and individual therapy for children and adults . I believe that, within the context of a supportive relationship, people can understand their problems in new ways and learn skills towards leading healthier and more fulfilling lives. I utilize a strengths-based approach that incorporates cognitive-behavioral, interpersonal, and systemic interventions. People see the most change when doctors, psychologists, teachers, and other players are working together. Thus, with your permission, I consult with others in order to better understand the problem and provide solutions that expand beyond the therapy room. When appropriate, I will be your advocate.

I specialize in comprehensive psychological testing for children, adolescents and adults , including testing for learning disorders and ADHD/ADD, general academic achievement and work concerns, problems with anxiety, and mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder, and developmental delay. I also provide screening for memory and other cognitive problems, IQ testing for gifted programs/schools or other purposes, personality testing for self-knowledge or to address life difficulties, and testing to assess whether disability accommodations are supported in a variety of settings.

I'll help you build trust in your ability to make the best choices for yourself. This means creating awareness of ways you can be more gentle and accepting of yourself as you are now, in addition to identifying areas that you are ready to change. I work with adults of all ages, and have a particular affinity for working with college-aged individuals and young professionals. I strive to meet people with where they are at by providing trauma-informed, culturally-humble support using evidenced-based modalities. This may include a mix of interpersonal, strengths-based, mindfulness, CBT and DBT techniques.

I specialize in working with children, adolescents, young adults , and families who are looking for help around challenges with ADHD, neurodivergence, anxiety, depression, behavioral difficulties, and those that are twice exceptional. I view my role as helping individuals discover their capabilities and strengths to overcome life challenges. Many times, this means helping them identify new coping strategies, ways to communicate with others, and an overall healthier way of living.

Kara Tracy is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) with over 5 years of experience helping adolescents and adults through various life traumas, adolescent out of home placement, life transitions, depression, anxiety, infertility, grief/pregnancy loss, and substance addiction. Kara completed her Bachelor of Arts (BA) at Mary Baldwin University and her Master of Science (MS) in Clinical Mental Health at Capella University.

Afton has experience working with individuals in the areas of anxiety, depression, interpersonal conflict, trauma, grief/loss and life transitions. Afton believes that every person is fully capable of change, growth and healing. Her work focuses on empowering clients to recognize their inner strengths and cultivate healthy mindsets. Afton integrates elements of cognitive behavior therapy and solution focused therapy to aid clients in challenging negative thought processes, setting goals and envisioning their future selves. She also uses mindfulness as a way to help clients explore their present situation and find joy and peace.

***Accepting new clients*** I work with individuals, couples, and families in therapy. I enjoy working with young to older-aged adults who are struggling with trauma, depression, anxiety, grief, relationship distress, and a variety of other issues. My areas of special interest are couple's therapy, older adults , and athletic performance/recovery. I also provide psychological testing/assessment for clients ages 6 and up. This includes psychoeducational assessment for accommodations

Connecting with a therapist is imperative to your mental health and healing. That is why I focus on meeting you where you are. We'll work together to understand your particular needs and strengths, and then create a plan that is individualized and specific to helping you reach realistic goals. You'll build useful skills for tackling life's obstacles, feel more confident in the choices you make, and experience freedom from the burdens of anxiety, depression and relationship issues. Together, we'll learn about what really matters to you and you'll take steps toward creating the change you want.