Works with
- Anger
- Stress, Anxiety
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Self esteem
- Depression
How Austa works
Practical facts
- Credentials
- LCSW
- Licensed in
- Illinois
- Years in practice
- 22
- Languages
- English
- Session format
- Online, through our partner platform
About Austa
Austa Murray is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 22 years of experience helping people manage stress, anger, anxiety, and relationship struggles. She offers steady support for depression, trauma and abuse, parenting strains, grief, and issues related to identity and intimacy. Austa focuses on what you need to address now and moves at a pace that feels right for you.
Her approach is warm and non-judgmental. Sessions often start with listening and finding what matters most to the person in front of her.
Background and approach
She uses clear, practical tools so clients can practice new ways to cope between meetings. Austa blends several methods to suit each person. She draws on attachment-based ideas to look at how early relationships shape current patterns.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps break down unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills are used when emotion regulation and distress tolerance are priorities. She also brings client-centered and narrative elements, helping people tell their story in a way that builds understanding and choice.
For relationship concerns, she uses Gottman Method ideas to improve communication and reduce conflict. Sessions may include teaching, role-play, and problem-solving tailored to real life. Clients can expect a collaborative plan with clear goals and tools to practice.
Austa places emphasis on strengths and small steps that add up over time. She works with adults from Illinois and conducts sessions in English.
What Austa works with
Everything Austa lists, in the therapist's own terms. Anger is the reason this directory exists; the rest tells you what usually sits alongside it in Austa's practice.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Self esteem
- Depression
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Attachment issues
- Blended family issues
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Mood disorders
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trichotillomania
- Women's issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Austa lists
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Gottman Method
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
Therapeutic approaches and online care
Austa uses Attachment-Based Therapy to look at how early relationships shape current patterns. This approach helps people understand why they react a certain way in close relationships and builds skills for more stable connection.She also integrates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which breaks problems into thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. CBT provides concrete skills to challenge unhelpful thinking and create new habits for managing mood and anger.
Finding the right fit is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to choose the approaches that match their needs, goals, and preferences. That planning is flexible and can change as progress is made.
Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to make care more accessible. Video works well for in-depth sessions and visual cues, phone can be a good option when bandwidth is limited, and live chat or text can support brief check-ins and skill practice. These formats make it easier to fit therapy around work, caregiving, and busy schedules, while keeping the focus on practical tools and steady progress.
Questions people ask about Austa
What concerns does Austa often help with?
She supports people facing stress, anxiety, anger, depression, trauma, relationship and parenting issues, and challenges around identity or intimacy.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
Her style is warm, non-judgmental, and educational. She focuses on listening first, then teaching coping skills and building insight.
What is her background and experience?
She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 22 years of experience across individual and group work, and with trauma and attachment-informed practice.
Where is she based and what are her credentials?
She practices in Illinois and holds the credential LCSW, listed as IL LCSW.
Which languages and international options are available?
Sessions are offered in English. International clients are not currently accepted.
What session formats are offered?
Sessions can be conducted via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different needs and schedules.
How does cost and billing work?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability and sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a session based on the therapist's availability.