Karissa Thomas , LMSW

Karissa Thomas, LMSW, focuses on helping people navigate stress, anxiety, relationship challenges, grief, and women’s issues. She aims to make people feel heard and understood. Karissa brings a direct and practical style while staying compassionate and down-to-earth.

She meets people where they are and treats them as the expert on their life. Sessions are conversational and curious rather than scripted. Karissa uses plain language to talk through problems and helps people build small, workable steps toward change.

Her approach blends acceptance and action. She often combines strategies from cognitive behavioral work with skills for managing intense emotions. Attachment-informed ideas guide how she looks at relationship patterns and intimacy concerns.

Karissa has seven years of experience as a licensed master social worker in Michigan. That background informs her practical focus on what will work day to day. She stays straightforward about goals while keeping a warm, nonjudgmental tone.

People can expect a collaborative process where honesty and openness shape the work together. Karissa is comfortable using gentle humor when it fits, and she encourages realistic progress over perfection.

Her methods are adaptable for issues like trauma, mood concerns, addiction, sleep problems, parenting stress, body image, and career worries. She also supports LGBT concerns and those coping with major life changes. Sessions can include short-term coaching or longer therapeutic work depending on what a person needs.

Therapeutic approaches for online care

Karissa draws from cognitive behavioral ideas to help people spot unhelpful thinking patterns and test new behaviors. CBT is practical and works well for anxiety, depression, sleep concerns, and many everyday stresses.

She also uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, which focuses on noticing difficult thoughts and feelings while committing to meaningful action. ACT can help with chronic worry, grief, and making life changes without getting stuck in avoidance.

Finding the right approach is a team effort. The therapist will talk with each person about their goals, preferences, and what feels most useful. Together they decide whether to focus on skills training, values-based action, or relationship-focused work and adjust the plan as progress is made.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is useful for a fuller conversation and visual cues, phone calls are good when bandwidth is limited, live chat allows short check-ins, and messaging supports ongoing coaching and quick coping reminders. These options make it easier to fit sessions into work days, caregiving schedules, or times when leaving home is difficult.