About Me
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Arizona, and Utah
Hello! I’m Kelly
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
I help people who are experiencing stressful family relationships improve communication skills so that they can enjoy life more. My clients learn to be more emotionally resilient by applying research-based coping skills to their lives. I also help individuals clarify their identity and values to find more purpose and joy in life. I founded Aspire Family Counseling as an online teletherapy practice to help you access therapy services at your convenience. It’s never been easier to receive great care from the comfort of your home.
I received my master’s degree in family therapy from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and my bachelor’s degree in special education from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. I am currently a Ph.D. student at Virginia Commonwealth University in Counselor Education and Supervision which is helping me to further my abilities as a counselor, researcher, and educator. I will continue seeing clients part-time and you can book a session any time through my client portal!
I currently serve as President of the Mormon Mental Health Association where I am a leader in culturally competent care for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or people with a Mormon background who are looking for a therapist who understands the context in which they were raised.
My Approach & Values
I take a brief therapy approach when working with individuals and couples. My goal is to help you resolve the problems that brought you to therapy in an efficient manner by helping you gain insight into why you feel stuck and to provide you with skills to learn how to cope and communicate more effectively. With a professional balance of compassion, psychoeducation, and light-heartedness, you might even find therapy to be a fun experience!
Individuals come to therapy for a variety of reasons and I follow the client’s lead on treatment goals. Some people are interested in resolving a temporary issue such as working through grief after pregnancy loss. Others find that having an ongoing relationship with a trusted therapist over the course of many years is a vital part of their self-care plan. Both short-term and long-term goals and therapeutic relationships are effective at providing lasting mental health benefits.
Research Based Therapeutic Approaches
- Gottman Method for couples counseling
- Discernment Counseling for mixed-agenda couples
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Acceptance and Committment Therapy (ACT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Intuitive Eating
- Health at Every Size
Areas of Noteworthy Expertise
- Working with female athletes
- Cultural competence in working with clients who have a Mormon background or are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- LGBTQ+ affirmative counseling
Couples Therapy or Discernment Counseling
Couples Therapy for couples who are committed to changing relationship patterns, improving communication skills, and increasing intimacy and vulnerability
or
Discernment Counseling for couples in which at least one partner is considering separation or divorce and is not sure if an attempt to improve the relationship is worth the effort
Individual Therapy
For teens and adults who are interested in working through personal issues related to:
family or partner relationships
perfectionism or fear of failure
disordered eating or body image
sports and performance psychology
grief and loss
faith transitions