Kara Anderson

Kara Anderson is a licensed mental health counselor based in Florida with 29 years of clinical experience. She began her counseling career in 1994 as a residential therapist in a psychiatric hospital and moved into outpatient work, clinical supervision and program direction at a substance abuse treatment agency. In 2001 she relocated to Ohio and spent the next 13 years serving as a clinical counselor and supervisor, program manager and program administrator for a nonprofit organization focused on mental and behavioral health. She returned to Florida in 2014 and established an online practice. Kara encourages anyone who has reservations about online counseling to give it a try - she has seen its effectiveness and convenience firsthand and can attest to its benefits based on her clients' positive feedback after providing services here for over eight years.

Her professional orientation is humanistic, with a strong belief that the therapeutic relationship is the essential foundation of effective counseling. Her style is warm, interactive, attentive and compassionate, while remaining direct and structured when appropriate. Kara frequently assigns therapeutic tasks between sessions to reinforce progress and maintains the flexibility to tailor pace and technique to each person’s needs. She emphasizes a holistic view of health and wellness, working to restore balance across major life domains when stress, anxiety, somatic symptoms or depleted self-care arise from unfulfilled needs in one area of life.

Kara holds licensure to practice clinical counseling and to provide clinical supervision in Ohio and is licensed as a mental health counselor in Florida. Her academic training includes a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Miami in Florida and a master’s degree in mental health counseling from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale. She also completed post-graduate coursework in career counseling and in the diagnosis, evaluation and treatment of mental disorders at the University of Dayton in Bexley, Ohio. Kara is committed to ongoing professional development through seminars, reading and self-study to stay current with therapeutic theories, models and techniques that benefit the people she serves.

Her clinical experience spans diverse populations, treatment settings and levels of care, addressing a wide spectrum of issues from single-diagnosis concerns to complex co-occurring conditions. She specializes in treating depression, anxiety and stress; substance use and addiction; trauma and abuse; grief and loss; and LGBTQIA+ concerns. Additional areas of experience include relationship and family conflicts, intimacy-related and parenting issues, anger management, self-esteem, career difficulties, compassion fatigue and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Kara has worked with children, adolescents and adults in residential, hospital, outpatient and community settings, providing individual, group and family services and leading psychoeducational groups and workshops on coping skills, stress reduction, emotion regulation, self-esteem and assertive communication.

Her clinical approach is eclectic but tends to be rooted in cognitive-behavioral therapy, an evidence-based, problem-focused method that helps clients identify and change unhelpful thought and behavior patterns. She integrates mindfulness-based CBT techniques and self-compassion practices to validate personal experience of distress while reducing associated symptoms by cultivating present-moment awareness. Teaching self-soothing, grounding and relaxation strategies is a core part of her work to help clients regulate emotions and improve overall coping and wellness.

Kara has more than two decades of experience treating substance use and dependency, working across levels of care from outpatient services to more structured settings. In 1998 she received the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association’s Professional of the Year award in recognition of her contributions to the field. Her work has included outpatient counseling for self-referred and mandated clients, group and family interventions, program development and staff supervision in addiction services, and training clinicians in assessment and treatment. Her approach emphasizes healthy coping skills, strong support systems and practical relapse prevention planning as key elements of recovery.

In treating abuse and trauma, Kara has supported child and adult survivors of emotional, physical and sexual abuse and has extensive experience with acute and post-traumatic stress disorders. She has developed and facilitated group curricula designed to reduce isolation, shame and self-blame while building self-esteem, coping skills and empowerment. Practical techniques such as grounding, anchoring and relaxation are integrated to help maintain a balanced state of arousal and present-moment focus. She encourages self-forgiveness and is careful to pace the work in a way that feels safe for each individual, offering trauma-informed care to minimize the risk of re-traumatization.

Kara also has a long history of helping children, teens and families navigate grief and loss. She recognizes that grieving is a highly individual process without a single formula; her work helps clients understand common patterns, learn to ride the waves of grief and develop strategies for healing and acceptance. Working with LGBTQIA+ clients is a particular area of passion for Kara. She is informed and experienced in supporting issues such as bullying, coming out, internalized homophobia, gender identity affirmation and transgender support, as well as concerns like homo/bi/transphobia and homophobic obsessive-compulsive presentations. She respects diversity and authenticity, advocates for increased education and support, and seeks to help LGBTQIA+ individuals, couples and families navigate the emotional, legal and financial complexities that can accompany non-traditional family structures.

Kara admires the courage it takes to reach out for help and looks forward to working collaboratively with individuals who are ready to move toward their goals. With patience, commitment and consistent effort, she supports clients in taking the first steps toward a healthier, more balanced and evolved life.