Kristen Henshaw, LPC, CMHC
Find clarity, connection, and comfort. Therapy that goes beyond coping to help you heal.
Online therapy and EMDR in Austin and across TX, WA, FL, ME, WI, NJ, LA, and NM.
Healing for complex trauma, dissociation, chronic pain, and chronic health conditions.
Maybe you find yourself wondering…
“How can I get along so well with so many people, but still feel lonely and isolated?”
“How many times do I have to repeat the same mistakes before I learn?”
“No one else seems to be struggling so much… What’s wrong with me?”
It can feel so confusing! Your logical, rational mind has served you well. You’re accustomed to finding solutions to problems, but you just can’t seem to think your way out of feeling so stuck.
The truth is - there’s nothing at all wrong with you!
I don’t expect you to believe me, of course. But when you start to understand how your past experiences have shaped the way your brain and nervous system react, it really starts to help you to see that your struggles aren’t a result of something being wrong with you, or something you should be doing differently. That’s not to say that you’ll never have any control. Quite the contrary! We can help your nervous system get unstuck, and return to its natural state of working toward health and wholeness.
I’m not going to sugar coat this… Healing is HARD WORK!
You’ve spent years going through all the recommended motions, and doing all the “right” things. You’ve made it this far. But you know you want something more… something different. Healing really is hard work, and even though I can’t do it FOR you, I can be there WITH you. As a therapist, I am a bit of a facilitator, a guide, a collaborator, a consultant, and a supporter with specialized skills, training, and experience to help you find your way through your healing journey to that “something more” that you’re looking for. You don’t have to do it alone.
As an empath and a highly sensitive person with my own history of painful experiences, I spent years stuck in cycles of people-pleasing and perfectionism, but still never feeling “good enough.” Then I started learning about how difficult experiences impact the brain in very real functional and structural ways.
Since then, I have fervently sought advanced training in neuroscience-driven modalities and techniques to help others to move beyond coping and to truly heal. Just like the skin will heal itself when cut if kept clean, or a broken bone will mend itself when set and given the proper care - the nervous system WANTS to heal… and together we can tend to its care to allow it to do so.
Methods / How I Work
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EMDR is a trauma-focused therapy that helps your brain and body process painful or overwhelming experiences - so they don’t continue to affect you in the present. When something overwhelming or traumatic happens, your nervous system can get “stuck” in survival mode. This stuckness can continue to impact you in the present, with certain situations, looks, tones of voice, or other stimuli triggering or upsetting you. You might react in ways that feel too intense for the circumstance without fully knowing why. EMDR helps you safely process those experiences on a nervous system level, reducing or eliminating the distress in the here and now.
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DBR is a gentle, body-based therapy that helps heal deep, early trauma stored in the nervous system - often beyond your awareness. It works with your brain’s first response to stress, helping your body release old patterns of tension, fear, or shutdown without needing to talk through every detail. DBR can be especially helpful if you feel disconnected, overwhelmed, or stuck in patterns you can’t explain. It’s a quiet, calming way to support deep healing - by meeting your system right where the pain began.
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Ego State Therapy helps you gently explore the different “parts” of yourself - like the inner critic, the people-pleaser, or the part that shuts down. These parts often formed to protect you during hard times. In therapy, we get to know these parts with compassion - not to fix or get rid of them, but to help them feel safe and supported. This work can bring more inner peace, self-compassion, self-understanding, and a deeper sense of wholeness.
Training & Experience
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Master of Science in Counseling, University of North Texas
Texas Licensed Professional Counselor, License No. 75544
Washington Licensed Mental Health Counselor, License No. MHC.LH.61618673
Maine Clinical Professional Counselor, License No. CC7640
Wisconsin Licensed Professional Counselor, License No. 10593-125
New Mexico Professional Clinical Mental Health Counselor, License No. CTB-2023-1037
Florida Telehealth Provider, TPMC4172, https://www.flhealthsource.gov/telehealth/
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EMDRIA Certified EMDR Therapist
DBR (Deep Brain Reorienting) Trained Therapist
EMDR for Chronic Pain and Chronic Health Conditions
Structural Dissociation and “The Progressive Approach”
Complex Trauma and “Attachment Focused EMDR”
Parts Work including Ego State Therapy
Interpersonal Neurobiology
STAIR (Self-Trust and Integrated Resiliency)
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EMDR International Association (EMDRIA)
International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD), Executive Committee Member
American Counseling Association
