Laura Akins , LPC

Laura Akins welcomes people who are seeking greater peace, purpose, and emotional balance and brings a calm, relational style to counseling. She emphasizes a relaxed, human-to-human approach - one person listening and sharing with another - and draws on personal victories and tragedies that have deepened her ability to empathize with others. With 34 years of experience, she has spent much of her career helping people address emotional issues that erode fulfillment and interfere with daily life.

Her graduate research focused on spiritual development, and she is experienced in integrating spiritual perspectives when clients wish to explore them, regardless of individual religious beliefs. As an LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor), she combines clinical training with life experience to support people through grief, relationship challenges, stress, addiction concerns, and questions of life purpose.

She approaches each person without regard to gender, race, politics, or creed, instead relating to the "content of their character," as Dr. ML King said. That orientation guides a therapeutic stance that seeks understanding, practical insight, and pathways toward a more peaceful and fulfilling life.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify their values and take committed action even when difficult thoughts or feelings arise. It is useful for stress, anxiety, and situations where someone wants a more values-driven life. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes empathy, genuine listening, and collaboration - the therapist creates a supportive space where clients explore their experience and find their own solutions, which can be especially helpful for relationship, self-esteem, and grief work. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns and developing practical strategies to change them, often used for mood disorders, anxiety, and coping with life changes.

Choosing the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Laura Akins works collaboratively with each person to determine which methods fit best with their needs, goals, and preferences, adjusting techniques over time as progress and priorities evolve.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility - sessions can take place via video calls, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging - making it easier to fit therapy into busy schedules or manage care from different locations. For many people, working with licensed professionals in these formats supports consistent access to support and keeps momentum toward their goals.