Heather Lykas, LMHC

Heather Lykas is a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) with 15 years of experience. She focuses on practical, skills-based help for common and painful problems. Her style is down-to-earth and strengths-focused, and she aims to meet people where they are.

Heather uses cognitive behavioral therapy, among other approaches, to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and try different behaviors. She pairs that with client-centered listening so sessions reflect each person's pace and priorities. Motivational interviewing is part of her toolkit when someone needs help finding motivation for change.

People come to her for stress, anxiety, depression, grief, anger, addiction concerns, trauma and abuse, parenting strain, relationship and family conflict, bipolar disorder, and coping with life changes. She adapts techniques to the issue at hand and to what the person already does well.

In a session Heather offers straightforward skill practice, problem-solving, and gentle challenge to shift patterns that aren’t working. She helps set concrete goals and breaks them into small steps people can try between sessions. The work is collaborative - clients help shape the focus and pace.

Heather practices in Rhode Island and communicates in English. She draws on 15 years of varied clinical experience to guide people toward clearer thinking, more balanced moods, and better day-to-day coping.

How Heather’s approaches work online

Heather uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help people notice thought patterns that feed anxiety or low mood and to try practical behavior changes. CBT sessions often include simple exercises and homework to practice new ways of thinking between meetings.

She also uses client-centered methods that prioritize listening and the person's own goals. That means sessions move at a person’s pace and focus on what matters most to them. Motivational interviewing is used when someone wants support finding the drive to make changes, such as starting recovery work or changing a difficult habit.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Heather treats the choice of methods as a collaboration and adjusts plans based on a person's needs, goals, and preferences. Clients help decide which techniques to try and when to shift focus.

Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to make care more accessible. Video is useful for longer therapy work and skill practice, phone can be easier when bandwidth is limited, and chat or text are handy for brief check-ins or when typing feels more comfortable. These options let people fit sessions into busy schedules and keep continuity between appointments.