Carol Costner , LPC

Carol Costner is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) with 21 years of experience helping people move from feeling overwhelmed toward clearer purpose and greater well-being. Her background began with a bachelor's degree in nursing from the University of Alabama in Birmingham, where she developed early experience supporting people through physical suffering in hospital settings. She later earned a Master of Arts in Community Counseling from Jacksonville State University and holds national certification as a counselor, qualifications that inform her informed, compassionate approach to emotional and relational concerns.

Carol practices from a client-centered perspective, believing that each person is the expert on their own life and that therapy works best when it is tailored to the individual's needs. She integrates solution-focused techniques with mindfulness practices, cognitive behavioral strategies, and narrative elements to address stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, relationship and family issues, grief, parenting challenges, anger, low self-esteem, career concerns, and compassion fatigue. Her style balances empathy with clear, direct guidance so clients can reduce self-criticism while taking active steps toward change.

Carol emphasizes a whole-person, integrated view of wellness and collaborates with clients to identify strengths, values, and practical strategies that fit their lives. She aims to help people reconnect with their internal compass and build sustainable habits that support purpose and resilience.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, often called ACT, helps clients notice thoughts and feelings without getting stuck and clarifies personal values to guide meaningful action. It is often used for anxiety, stress, and patterns that keep people from moving toward what matters to them. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes the client's perspective and pace - the therapist offers empathic support and genuine listening so clients can explore identity, relationships, and life transitions at their own rhythm. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, focuses on identifying unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns and teaching practical skills to shift them, which can help with mood concerns, panic, and coping with daily challenges.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Carol Costner works collaboratively with clients to determine which methods or blend of methods best match their goals, needs, and preferences, and she adjusts the plan as progress is made. Licensed professionals often combine techniques to fit each person's situation rather than relying on a single model.

Offering sessions by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging makes therapy more flexible and easier to fit into busy schedules. These options support continuity during life changes, allow for regular check-ins, and make it possible for clients to access consistent care from locations that work for them.