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AM Portrait of Austa Murray
Online therapist

Austa Murray

Calm guidance for parenting and life stress

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Credentials
LCSW
Experience
22 years
Licensed in
Illinois
Languages
English
Format
Online sessions

About Austa

Austa Murray is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with more than 22 years of experience in mental health settings. She focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, depression, grief, and issues around identity and relationships. Austa aims to meet clients where they are and move at a pace that feels comfortable for them.

She uses a compassionate, non-judgmental style and centers the conversation on what the client wants to address.

Background and approach

Sessions blend listening with practical skill-building and clear explanations of what’s happening and why. The goal is to help people gain insight and usable tools for day-to-day life. Her training includes work from an attachment and trauma-informed perspective.

Austa also draws on cognitive behavioral techniques and elements of dialectical behavior therapy to teach skills for emotion regulation and change. She incorporates Gottman Method ideas for relationship work when relevant. Clients can expect a strengths-based approach that values their experience and priorities.

Austa treats issues like parenting stress, trauma and abuse, ADHD, compassion fatigue, and intimacy-related concerns by focusing on what is most useful for each person. She partners with clients to set goals and develop a clear plan. Austa practices in Illinois and holds the Illinois Licensed Clinical Social Worker credential, IL LCSW 149.010100.

Sessions are offered in English and delivered through a variety of online formats to fit different schedules and needs.

How Austa’s approaches translate to online care

Austa draws from attachment-based work, client-centered therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy in ways that fit telehealth. Attachment-based work focuses on understanding how early bonds shape current relationships and emotions, which can help with trust, parenting stress, and closeness issues. Client-centered therapy centers the person’s experience and priorities, offering an empathic space where the therapist follows the client’s lead and supports their goals. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) teaches concrete tools to change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, useful for anxiety, depression, and stress management.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. Austa collaborates with each person to choose and adjust methods based on their needs, goals, and comfort with different techniques. She discusses options and tailors sessions so the work fits the client rather than forcing a single model.

Online therapy offers flexibility for people juggling parenting, work, or health needs. Video calls let therapists and clients connect visually for skill teaching and relationship work. Phone sessions can be simpler when video isn’t convenient, and live chat or text-based messaging supports check-ins, coaching, or shorter skill practice between sessions. These options help make consistent care more accessible and easier to fit into busy lives.

Attachment-Based Therapy

Looks at how early bonds shaped what you expect from closeness, and how that plays out now with a partner, a parent, or your own children.

Client-Centered Therapy

The direction comes from you rather than from a set programme. The therapist offers a warm, non-judgemental space to think out loud and work at your own pace. Online, this rests on the relationship rather than on being in the same room.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT looks at the link between what you think, how you feel, and what you do. You work on noticing unhelpful patterns and practising steadier responses. It suits online sessions well, because much of the work happens between appointments and can be talked through from anywhere.

Frequently asked questions

What concerns does Austa address?
She works with a wide range of issues including stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, grief, parenting stress, relationship and intimacy-related concerns, ADHD, and compassion fatigue.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
Her approach is compassionate and non-judgmental, combining listening, skill teaching, and insight. Sessions focus on practical steps alongside understanding patterns and emotions.
What is her professional background?
She has 22 years of experience in various mental health settings offering individual, group, and family-oriented work and brings training in attachment and trauma-informed care.
What credentials and region are associated with this therapist?
She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, IL LCSW 149.010100, and practices in Illinois.
Which languages are supported and are international clients taken?
Sessions are offered in English. International clients are not currently accepted.
What session formats are available?
Therapy is offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to suit different preferences.
How are costs handled?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What steps are needed to begin therapy?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.

Specialties and expertise

Top specialties

Also works with

Therapeutic approaches

Experience
22 years
Licensed
Illinois
Languages
English

Next step

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