- Attachment based therapy
- CBT techniques
- Client centered care
About Austa
Austa Murray is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) practicing in Illinois with 22 years of clinical experience. She helps people who are coping with stress, anxiety, depression, relationship concerns, and family of origin patterns that still affect daily life.
She offers individual work that starts where the client wants it to start. Sessions are paced to the client's comfort and aim to build a working connection so practical support and problem solving can happen. Austa has worked across settings with people facing parenting strain, grief, anger, bipolar mood challenges, and identity questions including LGBT concerns.
Her approach draws from attachment-based ideas and trauma-aware thinking. She also uses client-centered listening and cognitive behavioral techniques to help people see how thoughts and actions interact. That can look like talking through repeated family patterns, practicing new communication options, or trying small behavior changes between sessions.
In sessions she blends listening, teaching, and skill practice. She pays attention to developmental history and how early relationships shape current expectations. That may include focusing on abandonment, attachment issues, adoption or foster care topics, blended family dynamics, and caregiver stress.
People often come with complicated, overlapping problems. Austa works with co-morbidity, codependency, control and commitment struggles, dissociation, and recovery after domestic violence or other trauma. To begin, she asks about current concerns and goals and then creates a straightforward plan to address them.
How Austa's approaches translate to online work
Austa uses attachment-based ideas to look at how early relationships shape current patterns. That approach helps when people notice repeated roles, closeness issues, or trust problems that come from their family of origin. It focuses on understanding relational expectations and practicing different responses.She also uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which helps identify and change thoughts and behaviors that keep problems going. CBT can be useful for anxiety, depression, and skills for managing mood and stress. Sessions commonly include simple exercises, thought records, and behavior experiments that people can try between meetings.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to decide whether attachment-based ideas, CBT, or a mix best fits their needs, goals, and preferences. That decision is reviewed as therapy progresses to make adjustments where needed.
The original biography did not spell out which online session formats are offered. Please confirm current session options before booking. Many people find remote sessions helpful because they can fit appointments into work or caregiving schedules, avoid travel time, and use shorter check-ins when days are busy. These practical benefits can make it easier to keep up with regular sessions and apply skills between meetings.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
22+ years
Listed in
Illinois
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
Which concerns does she address related to family patterns?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, relationship and family of origin issues including attachment problems, abandonment, blended family dynamics, and parenting strain.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
Her style is client-centered and educational, combining listening with practical skill development and insight-based discussion.
What level of experience does she bring?
She has 22 years of clinical experience working in a range of mental health settings with individuals and groups.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She is an LCSW licensed in Illinois and practices there.
Does she offer sessions in other languages or to international clients?
Sessions are offered in English. She is not accepting international clients at this time.
What session formats are offered?
The original biography did not specify session formats. Please confirm current session options before booking.
How are fees handled?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What should I do to begin working together?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger, use the emergency numbers. Looking for someone else? Find them by surname.