Laura Akins, LPC

Laura Akins, LPC, helps people who are worn down by stress, anxiety, grief, or life changes find more calm and direction. She writes and talks plainly, and aims to make therapy a practical part of day-to-day life rather than a confusing process. Laura draws on a long career to listen, reflect, and guide people toward clearer choices and more satisfying routines.

Her work centers on emotional healing and rebuilding a sense of purpose. She uses straightforward conversations to identify patterns that cause pain, then helps people try new ways of responding. Sessions focus on steps that can be practiced between meetings, so progress can be noticed outside the therapy room.

Laura brings 34 years of experience as a licensed professional counselor. Early work and graduate research explored spiritual development, and she uses that background when clients want to include spiritual or meaning-making questions in their work. She emphasizes respect for each person's beliefs and life story.

Therapeutic approaches she uses include cognitive behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy alongside client-centered and emotionally focused methods. These approaches are used to address depression, relationship difficulties, addictions, trauma, self-esteem, and more. Motivational interviewing is applied when people want focused help with change.

People who choose Laura can expect a calm, empathic presence and practical steps to try between sessions. She aims to help clients reduce harmful patterns, clarify goals, and build habits that support a more peaceful and fulfilling life.

Online approaches that focus on change and meaning

Laura often uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and habits and then test new, more useful ways of thinking and acting. CBT is practical and problem-focused, which can be helpful for anxiety, mood concerns, and behavior change. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is another approach she uses; ACT emphasizes noticing difficult internal experiences while clarifying personal values and committing to actions that support a meaningful life.

She also brings a client-centered stance to online work, which means listening closely and shaping the process around each person's values and goals. Choosing the best approach is a collaborative process; the therapist will discuss options with the client and adapt methods to fit the client's needs, pace, and preferences rather than insisting on a single technique.

Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy fit into busy schedules. Video calls are useful for face-to-face conversation and nonverbal cues, phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited, and chat or messaging can provide brief check-ins or support between appointments. These options give flexibility so people can maintain momentum without rearranging their whole day.