Karen McDougal , LPC

Karen McDougal is an LPC (licensed professional counselor) with 14 years of experience supporting children, teens, and adults through a wide range of mental health and life challenges. Her work spans general mental health concerns such as anxiety and depression, life adjustments and transitions, trauma-informed care, familial conflict, crisis intervention, career exploration and planning, and building self-esteem. Karen combines clinical assessment and hands-on intervention skills gained across hospital settings, outpatient services, and in-home agencies to create practical, person-focused treatment pathways.

She has conducted crisis assessments, provided crisis interventions, and developed and implemented individualized treatment and discharge plans. Karen has also provided education on parenting and behavioral strategies as well as healthy relationship skills. In group settings she has facilitated and co-facilitated social skills groups, a psycho-educational anger management group, and programming on healthy teen and pre-teen dating relationships. Additionally, she has contributed to functional behavioral analysis observations, data collection, and treatment recommendations for children with behavioral disturbances, and has helped clients of varied ages with career exploration and planning.

Karen’s clinical orientation is grounded in client-centered and mindfulness practices with a trauma-informed emphasis, all aimed at helping people identify and reach meaningful goals for a fuller, more satisfying life.

Approaches That Guide Online Care

Karen combines client-centered therapy, mindfulness practices, and trauma-focused techniques to shape online sessions that respond to each person’s needs. Client-centered therapy emphasizes the client’s perspective and personal strengths, helping people explore values, set goals, and build self-direction; it suits concerns like life transitions, relationship issues, and self esteem. Mindfulness therapy teaches present-moment awareness and emotion regulation skills that can reduce stress and improve coping with anxiety and mood concerns. Trauma-focused therapy concentrates on understanding and processing traumatic experiences in a paced, supportive way and is used when past injury affects current functioning.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Karen works collaboratively with clients and licensed professionals to determine which combination of methods best matches a person’s goals, symptoms, and preferences, and adjusts the plan as progress unfolds.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility - sessions may take place by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging - which supports scheduling needs, accessibility, and continuity of care. These options allow therapists and clients to focus on progress and problem solving while fitting therapy into ordinary life.