Austa Murray, LCSW

Austa Murray is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with 22 years of experience working across a broad range of mental health settings. As an LCSW she holds clinical training and qualification to provide psychotherapy, and she has supported clients in individual, group, and family therapy, beginning therapy where each person prefers and moving at a pace that feels comfortable.

She has worked with a diverse set of concerns, including depression, anxiety, stress, career challenges, parenting and blended family issues, relationship difficulties, sexual assault, emotional abuse, and other trauma. Murray draws on advanced training in attachment and trauma-informed perspectives as well as developmental expertise to understand how past experiences influence current functioning.

Her therapeutic style is compassionate, non-judgmental, educational, and insight-oriented. She uses a strengths-based, trauma- and developmentally informed framework, integrating cognitive behavioral and solution-focused techniques with listening, skill development, and reflective understanding. Working collaboratively, she helps clients identify goals and creates a tailored plan to address the challenges that brought them to therapy. She looks forward to supporting individuals and families seeking practical change and deeper understanding.

Attachment and CBT approaches for online care

Austa Murray works with several evidence-based methods that translate well to online formats. Attachment-Based Therapy explores how early relationship patterns shape current connections and emotional responses; it can be especially helpful for relationship difficulties, attachment concerns, abandonment issues, and trauma-related relational wounds. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying and adjusting unhelpful thoughts and behaviors to reduce anxiety, manage depression, and develop practical coping skills for stress and life transitions. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes empathy, respect, and the client’s own goals, supporting self-esteem, insight, and personal growth through a collaborative therapeutic relationship.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Murray partners with each client to assess needs, preferences, and goals, and she adapts techniques from these models to create a personalized plan in collaboration with the client. This collaborative stance helps ensure the chosen methods fit the person’s situation and pace.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility - sessions can take place by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging - which makes it easier to schedule appointments around work, family, and daily demands. Licensed professionals can use these formats to deliver focused interventions, teach coping skills, and maintain an ongoing therapeutic relationship even when in-person visits are not possible.