About Aileen
Aileen Barnhouse is a licensed mental health counselor in Iowa with 17 years of experience supporting people facing stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, life transitions, and ADHD. She focuses on practical steps clients can use right away. Aileen emphasizes each person's strengths and works alongside them to build on what already helps.
She uses straightforward, skills-based work to tackle daily challenges. That often includes identifying patterns that keep problems going and trying new ways to respond.
Background and approach
Sessions are collaborative and paced to what the person needs that week. Aileen draws from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which helps people notice and change unhelpful thinking and behavior. She also uses a client-centered stance, listening closely and shaping the work around each person's values and goals.
These approaches are applied to concerns such as impulsivity, isolation, grief, caregiver stress, and difficulties with communication. In session she helps clients map realistic goals, practice small changes, and track progress over time. Topics she commonly addresses include co-occurring issues, codependency, feelings of emptiness, and navigating major life changes.
Work may include skill building for motivation, managing anxiety, or strategies to cope with ADHD-related challenges. Her style is supportive and practical. Aileen encourages people to use their existing strengths and to try manageable steps between sessions.
She aims to help clients feel more capable of handling everyday demands and moving toward a more satisfying routine.
Approaches and how they work online
Aileen uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people spot patterns in thinking and behavior and try new strategies. CBT is useful for anxiety, depression, stress, and ADHD-related difficulties like impulsivity and focus challenges. Client-Centered Therapy underpins her work by keeping the person's goals and values at the center and by shaping sessions around what matters most to them.Choosing the right approach happens together. The therapist will listen to your concerns, discuss options, and test what fits your goals and preferences. If one method does not feel helpful, she will adjust the plan in collaboration with you so the work matches your needs.
Online formats available include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video lets you have a face-to-face conversation from wherever you are, while phone calls can be easier when bandwidth is limited. Live chat and text messaging can be good for brief check-ins, quick skill practice, or when you prefer not to be on camera. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule and maintain contact between sessions.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
Also listed
- Abandonment
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Avoidant personality
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Emptiness
- First responder issues
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Personality disorders
- Postpartum depression
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trichotillomania
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 17 years
- Licensed
- Iowa
- Languages
- English
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