Kartika Refi

Hi! I'm Kartika Refi. Thank you for looking into my profile. I became a counselor because I am passionate about helping people who have been through difficult situations and want to improve their lives. It's an absolute joy for me to witness married couples reconcile and rekindle their first love or to see men and women experience transformation and radiate their inner strength with confidence.

I have a Master's degree in Professional Counseling from Dallas Baptist University, a Master's degree in Theological Studies from Madonna University, and advanced training in Emotionally Focused Therapy. I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Licensed Professional Counselor. I am also a certified Sexual Addiction Therapy Provider (SATP). My specialties include but are not limited to, marriage/relationship issues, sex addiction, anxiety, depression, trauma after abortion, PTSD, family conflict, and grief.

I am committed to providing my clients with a safe, authentic, caring, and professional therapeutic environment. I meet clients where they are and am happy to integrate Catholic Christian faith and teachings within the sessions if the clients desire.

I love providing clients with a “holding environment” where they feel safe exploring their pain and examining how they navigate relationships with themselves and others. It’s my passion to accompany clients on their journey from distress to peace and joy and develop their ability to be open, flexible, and responsive to others. In doing so, I primarily use Emotionally Focused Therapy, "a humanistic, evidence-based approach to psychotherapy, drawing from attachment theory to facilitate creating a secure, vibrant connection with self and others. Rooted in the science of emotions and attachment, EFT helps clients identify and transform the negative processing and interaction patterns that create distress" (https://iceeft.com/what-is-eft/)

The #1 feeling that most clients have after their first session with me is HOPEFUL! The hope motivates my clients to continue our work together. They will find some sessions are easier or heavier than others. For sure, it's not an easy journey. However, clients should expect changes during the session. The changes would motivate the clients to work on their issues until they achieve their therapy goals.