About Kristen
Kristen Hughes, LCSW, helps people facing stress, anxiety, relationship struggles, trauma and abuse, low self-esteem, and depression. She encourages steps small and clear so progress feels manageable. Kristen keeps language direct and practical during sessions.
With 29 years of experience in Arizona, she focuses on listening first and understanding each person's priorities. Sessions aim to make space for honest talk about fears, patterns, and what gets in the way of feeling better.
Background and approach
Kristen emphasizes building steady skills that people can use between meetings. Her work often addresses related concerns like abandonment, attachment issues, blended family dynamics, communication problems, and codependency. She also supports those dealing with chronic illness, caregiver stress, cancer, body image, and aging issues.
Autism and avoidant personality concerns are part of her broader focus areas. Kristen uses several approaches to guide the work. She centers the person’s goals and choices, helps spot unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, and teaches practical coping skills for intense emotions.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is part of her toolkit for processing distressing memories when appropriate. People describe sessions as straightforward and steady. Kristen invites clients to try small changes, practice new responses, and track what works.
She encourages anyone who feels stuck to take the next step toward clearer days.
Approaches that guide online sessions
Kristen often blends Client-Centered Therapy with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in online work. Client-Centered Therapy means the session focuses on the person’s priorities, with the therapist listening and reflecting to help clarify goals. CBT looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and actions, and teaches concrete steps to change unhelpful patterns. She also uses Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills for emotion regulation and distress tolerance when strong emotions interfere with daily life. DBT provides short, practical tools for managing overwhelm and improving communication. Choosing the right approach is a shared process. The therapist will talk with each person about their needs, goals, and preferences and adjust techniques over time. Sessions are collaborative and paced to fit what feels useful. Online formats offer real flexibility. Video calls let people use visual cues and screen-shared worksheets. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is low or a simpler check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging provide quick, ongoing contact for brief updates or homework support. These options make it easier to fit therapy around work, caregiving, or travel.Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Divorce and separation
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Traumatic brain injury
- Trichotillomania
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 29 years
- Licensed
- Arizona
- Languages
- English
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