Courtney Surigao , LCMHC

Courtney Surigao is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) based in North Carolina with 18 years of clinical experience supporting individuals, couples, and families through major life transitions and persistent challenges. She approaches care with a focus on strengths, values, and the personal resources each person brings, helping clients move from feeling stuck or overwhelmed toward renewed hope and practical change.

Courtney works with a wide range of concerns including relationship and family difficulties, grief and loss, parenting challenges, stress and anxiety, trauma and abuse, mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder, and issues related to self-esteem, intimacy, eating, sleeping, anger, and career. She also supports people navigating adoption and foster care, blended family dynamics, caregiver stress, chronic illness or pain, family of origin struggles, and end-of-life or hospice-related needs.

Her work combines evidence-based methods such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Solution-Focused approaches with client-centered and narrative elements to tailor treatment to each person. Sessions may include practical exercises, worksheets, and real-world tasks intended to reinforce progress between meetings. Courtney emphasizes that meaningful growth requires effort and collaboration, and she partners with clients to set clear, achievable goals and build plans to reach them.

Outside of practice she draws on family life and lived experience to inform a compassionate, grounded style of care. She aims to create a therapeutic space where people feel heard, accepted, and valued as they pursue healing and the life they want.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care

Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes understanding the person as an individual and creating a supportive, empathetic relationship where clients feel heard and respected. This approach helps people explore values, build self-awareness, and make choices that align with their goals.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thought patterns and behavioral habits and replacing them with practical strategies and skills. It is often used for anxiety, depression, stress management, and building coping tools.

Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) targets emotional experience and attachment patterns, particularly in relationships, helping partners or family members express needs, repair connection, and reduce reactive cycles. It is useful for intimacy issues, relationship distress, and family conflict.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process; Courtney collaborates with clients to determine which methods best match their needs, goals, and personal preferences. She adapts techniques over time as progress is made and priorities change.

Online therapy with Courtney can take place by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. These options offer flexibility for scheduling, allow clients to access care from different locations, and support ongoing work between sessions through convenient communication channels.