Kristy Gehling, LSCSW

Kristy Gehling is a licensed social worker in Kansas who helps people facing stress, anxiety, parenting concerns, anger, low self-esteem, and motivation struggles. She works with individuals on mood challenges, relationship and family problems, grief, trauma, and issues around intimacy and eating. Kristy emphasizes practical steps and steady support as people take the first steps toward change.

Her approach centers on helping clients build on the strengths they already have. She uses tools from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to identify unhelpful thoughts and test new ways of coping. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy ideas are woven in to help people clarify values and take committed action.

Kristy also draws on Motivational Interviewing to spark and sustain motivation for change. Solution-Focused Therapy helps keep sessions goal-oriented and actionable, with small, measurable steps to try between meetings. Sessions are collaborative and tailored to the issues a person brings.

She has six years of professional experience as an LSCSW - Licensed Specialist Clinical Social Worker - working in Kansas. That background includes helping people navigate complex family situations, blended family questions, adoption and foster care concerns, and caregiver stress. Kristy listens for practical barriers and helps design realistic plans that fit daily life.

People who meet with her can expect straightforward conversation, concrete strategies to practice, and encouragement to follow through on changes. She aims to make therapy a place for steady progress rather than quick fixes.

How her approaches translate to online therapy

Kristy uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people spot and change unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns. CBT focuses on practical exercises and small experiments that people can try between sessions, which work well in video or text formats.

She also incorporates Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help clients clarify what matters to them and take steps toward those values. ACT often uses brief exercises and values-based planning that transfer easily to phone or messaging check-ins. Motivational Interviewing is used to build and sustain a person's own reasons for change, which can be done through conversation on a video call or a focused chat exchange.

Finding the right approach is a team effort. Kristy will discuss goals, preferences, and what feels useful, then adjust techniques as therapy progresses. She aims to match methods to the issue at hand and to the way a person prefers to communicate.

Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to make counseling fit into busy lives. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation for skill coaching, phone sessions can work with lower bandwidth, live chat is useful for short check-ins, and text messaging helps with quick reflections or reminders between meetings. These options give flexibility so people can keep therapy consistent around work, family, and other obligations.