Karen Kelly, LCSW

Karen Kelly is a licensed therapist based in Alaska who focuses on supporting people through complex emotional challenges such as depression, anxiety, trauma, and addiction. She approaches each person with compassionate, individualized care, helping them explore difficult emotions, develop practical coping skills, and address feelings of responsibility, guilt, and shame that can follow painful experiences.

Her work includes extensive experience with active duty military, veterans, first responders, and those facing workplace stress, social isolation, and relationship difficulties. She brings specific cultural competence to first responder populations, informed in part by her own experience as a former first responder who served as a law enforcement officer and 911 dispatcher.

As an LCSW - a Licensed Clinical Social Worker - she draws on evidence-based methods to guide people through post-traumatic stress, substance use concerns, mood disorders, and major life transitions. Her practice emphasizes building resilience, improving communication, and supporting meaningful personal growth so individuals can move forward with clearer goals and stronger coping resources.

Throughout the therapeutic process she aims to create a steady, supportive environment where healing and practical change are pursued in partnership.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care

Karen Kelly integrates several evidence-based approaches to tailor care to each person’s needs. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps clients notice difficult thoughts and feelings without letting them dictate behavior, and it focuses on clarifying values and taking meaningful action - useful for anxiety, stress, and life transitions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) targets the connections between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to reduce symptoms and build practical skills for mood and anxiety issues. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) offers a structured way to process traumatic memories and reduce their emotional intensity, which can be helpful for post-traumatic stress and lingering trauma responses.

Finding the right approach is part of the work itself. As a licensed professional, she collaborates with each person to determine which methods fit their goals, preferences, and life circumstances, and adjusts the plan as progress unfolds.

Online therapy with Karen is offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, providing flexibility for scheduling, location, and communication style. This range of options makes it easier to access ongoing care while balancing work, family, and daily obligations, and supports steady progress even when in-person visits are not possible.