About Charles
Charles Austin is a licensed clinical social worker with 35 years of experience. He is licensed as an LCSW in Texas and New Mexico and works from Santa Fe, New Mexico. He focuses on addictions, stress, anxiety, trauma and depression while helping people navigate big life changes.
He has led outpatient and inpatient rehabilitation programs and now sees clients in independent practice. His background gives him practical insight into addiction care and recovery.
Background and approach
He also supports people facing medical issues, aging concerns, and other prolonged stresses. Sessions are collaborative and straightforward. He aims to create an open space where people can say what they are feeling without judgment.
Conversations look at current struggles, patterns from the past, and steps that feel doable right now. Charles draws on several approaches, including client-centered work, cognitive behavior techniques, EMDR for trauma, and mindfulness practices. He uses these tools to reduce symptoms, shift unhelpful habits, and clarify values and goals.
He speaks English and works with adults seeking help for a range of concerns from loneliness and guilt to substance problems and midlife questions. His own experience in recovery informs a practical, compassionate style that focuses on steady progress. People who want clear, direct support for stress, addiction, or life transitions may find his approach useful.
He helps clients set realistic steps, track small gains, and move toward the life they want.
How therapeutic approaches translate to online care
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and reflecting so people feel heard and understood. Online sessions use that same stance to build trust, helping someone name what matters and set personal goals that fit their life.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, breaks problems into thoughts, feelings, and actions. Through video or messaging, a therapist can guide simple exercises to identify unhelpful thoughts and try new behaviors between sessions to reduce symptoms like anxiety or low mood.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, known as EMDR, is used for processing traumatic memories. In an online setting the therapist guides the steps and pacing, helping clients work through distressing memories while tracking responses and adjusting as needed.
Choosing an approach is a joint process. The therapist will talk about options, try techniques together, and adjust based on how things are going. Clients help set goals and the pace so the work fits personal needs and preferences.
Online therapy offers real flexibility. Video calls let people use visual cues during deeper work. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging let clients send thoughts between appointments and fit support into a busy day. These options make it simpler to keep consistent momentum toward goals.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Cancer
- Codependency
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Narcissism
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 35 years
- Licensed
- New Mexico, Texas
- Languages
- English