Elizabeth Starnes

I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor (LPC-S) in Texas, a Board-Certified Art Therapist (ATR-BC®), and a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist (REAT). I offer a compassionate, supportive space where you can explore your experiences, emotions, and identity at your own pace.

I work with adults navigating trauma, anxiety, grief, and life transitions. My approach integrates talk therapy with expressive arts and visual journaling, which can help access emotions that may feel difficult to put into words. Together, we focus on increasing awareness, processing experiences, and developing more effective ways of coping and relating.

My work is trauma-informed and grounded in evidence-based approaches, including cognitive and somatic strategies, while also incorporating creative processes when it feels supportive to you. You don’t need any artistic experience—just a willingness to explore.

I also bring over a decade of experience in clinical counseling, supervision, and graduate-level teaching, and I value creating a space that feels safe, collaborative, and respectful of your individual needs.

My approach to therapy is collaborative, flexible, and tailored to each client’s needs. I integrate traditional talk therapy with expressive arts, including visual journaling, to support both verbal and nonverbal ways of processing experiences. Creative approaches can be especially helpful for exploring emotions that feel difficult to access or put into words, but they are always optional and guided by your comfort level.

I often incorporate Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help identify and shift patterns of thinking that contribute to anxiety, stress, or emotional distress. I also use a parts-informed perspective, which understands that different aspects of ourselves can hold different emotions, experiences, and needs. This can help create greater self-awareness, reduce internal conflict, and support more compassionate ways of relating to yourself.

For clients with trauma histories, we move at a pace that feels safe and manageable, often beginning with building coping skills, emotional awareness, and stability before engaging in deeper processing. My goal is to create a space where you feel supported in exploring your experiences, developing insight, and finding ways to move forward that feel meaningful and sustainable.

Your first session is a chance for us to get to know each other and begin building a foundation for our work together. We’ll talk about what brings you to therapy, what feels most challenging right now, and what you’re hoping might change. You’re welcome to share as much or as little as feels comfortable—there’s no pressure to go into everything right away.

I approach therapy as a collaborative process, where we work together to better understand your experiences, challenges, and strengths. My style is supportive, compassionate, and grounded in both talk therapy and creative expression. If it feels helpful, I may introduce gentle creative options like visual journaling, though this is always optional and guided by your comfort level.

Throughout our work, I draw from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), somatic and parts-informed approaches, and narrative-based practices. In the first session, we may also begin identifying initial goals and discussing what pace and approach feel right for you.

The focus of this first meeting is creating a space where you feel safe, heard, and supported as we begin the process of working together.