About Kirsten
Kirsten Probst-Santha is a licensed clinical social worker who helps people facing stress, anxiety, major life changes, and grief. She writes and speaks plainly and offers steady support during difficult times. Her approach is approachable and warm, aimed at helping clients feel understood and more capable.
She uses a client-centered way of working that focuses on each person’s priorities. That means conversations are guided by what matters most to the individual rather than a fixed agenda.
Background and approach
Kirsten blends practical skill-building with emotion-focused work to help manage feelings and reactions. Kirsten draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to identify unhelpful thinking patterns and replace them with more useful ways of responding. She also uses Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills to help with emotional regulation and stress management.
Solution-focused techniques are used to set short-term goals and track progress. Her background includes work in school, residential, and community settings where she supported people through trauma, crisis, and transitions. Kirsten emphasizes cultural responsiveness and respect in her work.
Her credential is LCSW, which stands for Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Sessions can address parenting concerns, relationship strain, workplace stress, mood disorders, ADHD-related challenges, and issues around adoption or foster care. She also helps with caregiver stress, body image, fertility concerns, and communication problems.
Kirsten aims to help people build coping skills and increase stability over time.
How therapeutic approaches translate to online work
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and following the client’s lead. In online sessions this means conversations center on the person’s goals and concerns, with the therapist reflecting and clarifying so the client feels heard.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at the link between thoughts, feelings, and actions. Online CBT typically includes identifying unhelpful thoughts, practicing new ways of thinking, and using worksheets or exercises between sessions to build new habits.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) offers concrete skills for handling strong emotions and reducing impulsive reactions. Skills training online can teach distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and mindful awareness that clients can use in everyday moments.
Choosing the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to pick methods that fit their needs, goals, and preferences and will adjust the plan as progress is made.
Online formats - video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text messaging - make scheduling more flexible. Video works well for deeper conversations and seeing nonverbal cues. Phone calls can be easier when bandwidth is limited. Live chat or text messaging allow quick check-ins and brief coaching between sessions. These options help people fit therapy into busy lives and keep progress moving forward.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Parenting issues
- Self esteem
- Coping with life changes
Also works with
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Anger management
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Depression
- Domestic violence
- Eating and food-related issues
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- Fertility issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Immigration issues
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Relationship issues
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 4 years
- Licensed
- Illinois, North Carolina
- Languages
- English