Christina Chykirda, LPC

Christina Chykirda is a Licensed Professional Counselor who helps people cope with stress, anxiety, depression, addictions, and life changes. She speaks plainly and works with people who want practical tools and clear steps to feel better. Christina brings ten years of experience in mental health to each session and aims to be warm, direct, and collaborative.

She uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to identify unhelpful thoughts and test new ways of thinking and acting. She also draws on Client-Centered approaches to listen without judgment and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills to teach emotion regulation and distress tolerance. Her work often includes short homework tasks so people can practice between sessions.

Christina has worked across inpatient, residential, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and outpatient settings. That variety shaped her comfort with complex issues such as trauma, substance use, eating-related concerns, bipolar conditions, and co-occurring disorders. She also supports people facing grief, relationship and intimacy struggles, sleep problems, parenting stress, and career transitions.

Her style is empathic and direct. She offers education about symptoms and conditions so clients better understand what they are facing. When needed she will gently challenge patterns that keep people stuck and help them replace harmful coping with safer, healthier options.

Sessions focus on clear goals and skills practice. Christina asks practical questions, sets achievable steps, and checks progress together. She encourages effort and normalizes setbacks as part of change.

How CBT, Client-Centered, and DBT work online

Christina commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people spot unhelpful thoughts and try different behaviors. CBT sessions online focus on concrete exercises, thought records, and step-by-step plans that people can practice between meetings. Client-Centered Therapy is also part of her work, which means she listens carefully, reflects what she hears, and lets the person's goals guide the pace and focus of sessions. Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills are used to teach specific tools for managing strong emotions, improving relationships, and tolerating distress without resorting to harmful coping.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. Christina will talk about goals, what has worked or not worked before, and preferences for hands-on exercises or open discussion. Together they decide which methods to try and adjust the plan based on progress and feedback.

Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to add flexibility. Video is useful for more in-depth skills work and modeling techniques, while phone can be a simpler check-in when bandwidth is limited. Live chat or messaging can support brief updates, reminders, or rapid coping tools between fuller sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy days and keep continuity when schedules change.