Sarai "Christi" Webb-Vanderpoorten, LMFT

Sarai "Christi" Webb-Vanderpoorten is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) with three decades of clinical experience working with individuals, couples, and families. She brings a broad professional background that includes work as a Master Addiction Counselor, a mental health and integrative medical nutritionist, and experience as a personal trainer and fitness instructor, integrating physical health and nutrition into her approach to mental health.

Christi earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Southern Mississippi and has practiced as a therapist since 1993. Her career has included roles in treatment centers and mental hospitals providing inpatient care, as well as outpatient practice in private settings. She is licensed to practice in Mississippi and Alabama and combines family systems training with addiction and trauma expertise.

Her therapeutic stance is warm and compassionate while also direct and honest. She emphasizes a whole-person perspective that considers physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual dimensions of wellbeing. Christi helps clients clarify what they want from life, identify meaningful purpose, and develop the practical changes needed to support recovery and growth.

With extensive experience supporting people facing depression, anxiety, trauma, addictions, relationship struggles, grief, parenting challenges, body image and eating concerns, she draws on faith and lived experience as a married parent of five to inform her relational, strengths-based practice.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care

Sarai "Christi" Webb-Vanderpoorten uses several evidence-informed approaches to support change and healing. Client-Centered Therapy focuses on providing a respectful, nonjudgmental environment where the client’s goals and values guide the work - this approach helps people build self-understanding and confidence. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) teaches practical skills for identifying and changing unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns, and it is often used for anxiety, depression, and coping with life changes. Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) addresses relationship patterns and attachment needs by helping partners or family members better understand and respond to each other’s emotions.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. Christi works with clients to identify which methods fit their needs, goals, and personal preferences, and she adapts techniques over time to match progress and changing concerns.

Online therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, which can make scheduling more flexible and reduce barriers to regular care. These formats allow licensed professionals and therapists to offer consistent, ongoing support while accommodating work, family, and geographic constraints.