Acea Starks , LPC, LCMHC

Acea Starks brings a nontraditional, holistic lens to mental health care, combining life experience with formal training to support people navigating stress, trauma, relationships, mood concerns, and identity-related questions. She began her path to counseling later than some, shifting from earlier studies in English and a brief time in nursing to earn an associate degree in psychology, a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and a master’s degree in mental health counseling while working. Those steps, taken in her 30s, inform a practical empathy rooted in real-world challenges and varied work histories.

Acea is open about a personal aesthetic that reflects individuality - piercings, tattoos, purple hair, and a goth sensibility - and she leans into that authenticity in therapeutic work. Her clinical stance is intentionally eclectic, grounded in the belief that there is no single treatment that fits everyone. She emphasizes goal setting, accountability, and equipping people with tools to manage their unique concerns, while also encouraging self-care and work-life balance. When not working, she often seeks restoration outdoors, packing a bag and spending time in the woods.

She is licensed across multiple states and holds LPC and LCMHC credentials - professional licensure that recognizes training and supervised clinical practice as a counselor. That combination of formal qualifications, varied life experience, and an individualized, toolbox-oriented approach shapes how she partners with clients to address their needs.

Approaches and Benefits of Online Therapeutic Care

Acea Starks draws from Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to tailor online care to each person. Client-Centered Therapy focuses on creating a respectful, empathic relationship that helps individuals explore their values and goals and feel heard as they work through identity and relational concerns. CBT helps people identify unhelpful thinking patterns and develop practical skills to manage symptoms like anxiety, depression, and stress through structured exercises and problem-solving. DBT emphasizes skills for emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and improved interpersonal effectiveness, which can be especially useful for mood disorders, trauma-related reactions, and relationship challenges.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process, and Acea collaborates with each person to determine which methods fit their needs, goals, and preferences. That shared decision-making helps shape a plan that balances symptom relief with long-term coping skills.

Online sessions with licensed professionals offer flexibility in how care is delivered - video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging - allowing therapy to fit into work, family, and life demands. These options increase accessibility and make it easier to maintain continuity of care while using approaches selected to match each person's situation.