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Karissa Thomas

Therapist profile

Karissa Thomas, LMSW

Michigan

Licensed MSW - Anger and Relationships

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Key details

  • CredentialsLMSW
  • LicenseLMSW, Michigan / 6801108127
  • NPI1003345380
  • Experience7 years
  • LanguagesEnglish
  • LocationMichigan

About

  • anger management skills
  • CBT and DBT tools
  • values based work

About Karissa

Karissa Thomas is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) practicing in Michigan with seven years of clinical experience. She works with people facing stress, anxiety, anger, relationship struggles, trauma and abuse, and a wide range of life challenges. Karissa focuses on clear, practical support rather than jargon or vague promises.

Karissa approaches sessions with a curious, nonjudgmental stance. She treats clients as experts on their own lives and uses straightforward conversation to uncover patterns and options. She mixes practical skills with reflective work so people can change habits that feed anger, worry, or numbness.

Her methods draw from cognitive behavioral techniques to shift unhelpful thinking, dialectical behavior strategies for emotion regulation, and acceptance and commitment ideas for clarifying values and moving toward them. Attachment-based ideas inform how she looks at relationship patterns and trust. Sessions are conversational and direct, with room for humor when appropriate.

Karissa also helps with practical life tasks like sleep struggles, parenting stress, career decisions, and managing addictions or mood concerns. She offers coaching-style focus when people want concrete steps and planning.

People who work with Karissa can expect honest feedback and collaborative problem solving. She encourages openness and gradual practice of new skills. To start, she asks a few questions about goals and current struggles and then designs a way forward that fits each person’s life.

How sessions work

Approaches you can expect in online sessions

Karissa uses several practical approaches that translate well to remote work. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing them with small behavioral experiments. It helps with anxiety, anger, low mood, and sleep problems by changing patterns that keep reactions stuck.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) offers concrete emotion regulation and distress-tolerance skills. These tools teach ways to slow down strong reactions, tolerate intense feelings, and manage impulses. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) emphasizes clarifying personal values and taking committed steps toward them, which can reduce avoidance and build steadier action in daily life.

Working out which approach to use is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, typical reactions, and what has or hasn’t helped before. From there she combines skill-building, reflective work, and plain planning so the approach fits the person’s needs and preferences.

Practical benefits of online sessions include easier fitting of therapy into a busy schedule and fewer commute constraints. Because the biography does not list specific formats, confirm current session options before booking. Online work can allow shorter check-ins when needed, or more regular brief practice sessions to support applying skills between meetings.

Areas of focus

Areas of expertise

Primary focus

LGBTRelationship issuesTrauma and abuseEating disordersCoping with life changes

Also works with

Stress, AnxietyAddictionsFamily conflictsGriefIntimacy-related issuesSleeping disordersParenting issuesAnger managementSelf esteemCareer difficultiesBipolar disorderDepressionCoachingCompassion fatigueADHD

Additional focus areas

AbandonmentAdoption and foster careAging and geriatric issuesAntisocial personalityAttachment issuesAutism and Asperger SyndromeBlended family issuesBody imageCancerCaregiver issues and stressChronic pain, illness, and disabilityCodependencyCommitment issuesCommunication problemsCoping with natural or human-caused disasterDependent personalityDissociationDivorce and separationDomestic violenceDrug and alcohol addictionEating and food-related issuesEmptinessFamily of origin issuesFamily problemsFatherhood issuesFertility issuesFirst responder issuesForgivenessGender dysphoriaGuilt and shameHearing impairedHoardingHospice and end-of-life counselingImmigration issuesInfidelityIntellectual disabilityIsolation / lonelinessJealousyLife purposeMen's issuesMidlife crisisVeteran and Armed Forces IssuesMoney and financial issuesMulticultural concernsNarcissismObsessions, compulsions, and OCDPanic disorder and panic attacksPersonality disordersPolyamory / non-monogamous relationshipsPostpartum depressionPost-traumatic stressPregnancy and childbirthPrejudice and discriminationProcess addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)Self-harmSelf-loveSex addictionSexual assault and abuseSexual dysfunctionSexualitySocial anxiety and phobiaTraumatic brain injuryTrichotillomaniaVisually impairedWomen's issuesWorkplace issuesYoung adult issues

Therapeutic approaches

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)Attachment-Based TherapyClient-Centered TherapyCognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)Gottman MethodMindfulness TherapyMotivational InterviewingNarrative TherapyPsychodynamic TherapySolution-Focused TherapyTrauma-Focused TherapyInternal Family Systems

Experience

7+ years

Listed in

Michigan

Languages

English

Questions

Frequently asked questions

What kinds of concerns does she address?

She works with stress, anxiety, anger, relationship issues, trauma and abuse, depression, addictions, parenting strain, sleep problems, and related concerns listed in her profile.

How would you describe her therapeutic style?

She is practical and straightforward, using curious, nonjudgmental conversation and occasional humor while helping clients learn new skills and perspectives.

How much clinical experience does she have?

She has seven years of experience as a clinician working with a range of mood, relationship, and life-transition issues.

What credential does she hold and where is she based?

She is an MI LMSW, a Licensed Master Social Worker practicing in Michigan.

Are sessions available in other languages or international clients supported?

Sessions are offered in English, and she does accept international clients according to her profile.

What session formats are offered?

The original biography did not specify session formats; please confirm current session options before booking.

How does payment work and what do sessions cost?

Cost varies by location; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.

How do I get started if I want to work with her?

Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session to begin.

Details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. A license can be checked with the state board.

Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If anyone is unsafe, use the crisis numbers.

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Karissa Thomas

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