Kristi Rakes, LCSW, LISW-CP

Kristi Rakes is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 13 years of experience who focuses on helping people when life feels overwhelming. She listens with empathy and a nonjudgmental attitude. She helps people manage anxiety, depression, grief, stress, and problems with self-esteem. Kristi also supports those facing addiction, career changes, and relationship or intimacy concerns.

Kristi uses straightforward, practical methods to help people make small changes that add up. She draws on cognitive behavioral therapy, client-centered work, and mindfulness to build new habits and clearer thinking. Motivational interviewing and narrative approaches help people clarify goals and rewrite stressful stories about themselves.

She has experience with mood disorders, panic and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, postpartum depression, and issues related to aging, caregiving, and end-of-life concerns. Kristi also addresses guilt, shame, body image, and feelings of isolation. Her work includes supporting people in LGBT communities who are navigating identity and relationship questions.

Sessions focus on identifying strengths, setting realistic steps, and practicing skills between meetings. Conversations tend to be practical and goal-directed while staying compassionate and person-focused. Kristi aims to help people find steadier footing and clearer direction.

Kristi practices in North Carolina as an LCSW and a LISW-CP. She offers sessions in English and provides care through several online formats to fit different needs.

How Kristi’s approaches translate to online therapy

Kristi commonly uses cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness therapy in sessions. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps people notice unhelpful thoughts and practice different behaviors to reduce anxiety, panic, or depressive patterns. Mindfulness therapy teaches simple attention and breathing practices that help reduce stress and increase awareness of the present moment.

She also draws on client-centered techniques that prioritize the person’s own goals and perspectives. That means the choice of approach is collaborative: Kristi will talk with a client about what feels most useful, try methods that match their needs, and adjust plans as progress is made.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to make care easier to fit into a busy life. Video is useful for deeper conversations and skill coaching, phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited, live chat can provide a focused check-in, and messaging supports short updates or ongoing practice between meetings. These options help keep therapy flexible and accessible while allowing the therapist and client to focus on practical steps and real-life progress.