Licensed to practice in Ohio and accepts 9 insurances. Specializes in Anxiety, Grief, Life Transitions and 10 more.
(she/her)
New to Grow
Greetings! I am Kara Baird, I am a Licensed Professional Clinician Counselor and Licensed Independent Chemical Dependency Counselor who has been in the field since 2014. I thoroughly enjoy being in private practice and believe it is a real honor to be trusted to walk along side you during some of the most difficult times in life. I hope that you will take the time to read through the bios and find a therapist that you can connect with and develop a trust that aids in your journey to wellness. I do hope there is something on my page that resonates with you. I am ready to do the work, are you?
The first session will consist of an assessment only. We will work together and I will be gathering a lot of information about you your current symptoms, what has prompted you to reach out for therapy along with some historical pieces of information about you and your family of origin. This is very high level. We will not get into anything “deep” during this first session. At the end of our time on the first session, I will give you some feedback as to what I am seeing from the assessment that could be things we can work on moving forward, if you choose to schedule another session. I also understand the importance of our time spent to be a way for you to see if I will be a good fit for you. It’s important that you are aware of how you are feeling in our session together and if you can see yourself working with me moving ahead. If you decide to move forward, we will schedule your next session.
My approach with each client is to meet them where they are at. Sometimes that will look like just holding space and allowing time for unpacking difficult thoughts and feelings. At other points in therapy, I will be gently challenging you to consider different things through asking well informed questions designed to probe the further. I also listen to what you are not saying, I listen for patterns and themes in your narrative that can shed light on your experiences. I want to help you achieve your goals, not to see you in therapy indefinitely. I want to help you get back to the quality of life you desire for yourself.
Are you ready for change, but are not quite sure where to start? Have you been experiencing similar patterns in life and continue to struggle no matter how hard you try? If you are ready to commit wholeheartedly to the therapy, I believe change is possible and the results can be life changing. Anxiety, depression, grief/loss, life transitions are happening all around you, making it challenging to take the time you need to focus on yourself. Finding someone that can hold space for you to listen and validate your feelings can make all the difference in the world.
I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy frequently in my sessions to aid clients in understanding their thought process and drilling down their core beliefs and attitudes about a particular issue. When we can work together collaboratively to understand your thought process, we can begin the journey of gently challenging some firmly held beliefs that might not be helpful any longer. Once we uncover these firmly held beliefs and attitudes, we can replace them and use this to create new narratives that will promote wellness.
Using Dialectal Behavioral Therapy in session with you will be helpful if you are in need of coping skills, emotional regulation, learning how to tolerate higher levels of stress without feeling completely overwhelmed. I will work with you to teach you what is happening inside of you physically and neurologically when you are feeling overwhelmed by life’s circumstances. Once you begin to understand what is happening in the background, you can begin the process of using techniques and interventions I will model for you to cope and regulate yourself. Improving your emotional intelligence and maturity will aid in healthier relationships with self and those around you.
Some people are interested in working with a Clinician who has the ability to address not only the psychological component of treatment in therapy, but also the spiritual elements as well. When your faith matters to you, having the freedom to share that in your sessions can be very therapeutic. We are multi dimensional people. We have a body, mind and spirit, tending to those dimensions in therapy can be very beneficial. At a clients request, I have incorporated prayer, scripture reading and meditation. This is combined along with evidence based practices such as Cognitive Behavioral and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy.
Using a persons current strengths, focusing on future goals (short and long term) and building objectives to help you achieve those desired outcomes is one way I like to operate with clients. It is not always helpful to go back to square one (childhood) and relive old hurts, sometimes people are ready to forge ahead. Solution Focused Therapy can be a great way to accomplish that.