About Kristi
Kristi Rachal is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 23 years of experience helping people cope with depression, anxiety, stress, addiction, ADHD, and relationship and family concerns. She works with adults who are dealing with grief, intimacy-related issues, caregiving strain, and problems like codependency and communication breakdowns.
Her style aims to put people at ease so they can talk honestly about what's hard for them. Rachal keeps sessions informal and straightforward.
Background and approach
She values accountability and focuses on practical steps people can try between meetings. She uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, mindfulness practices, and solution-focused ideas to help clients notice thought patterns and test new coping skills. Sessions often include clear tools and short exercises rather than long theoretical talks.
Her background includes work in prisons, hospitals, home health, hospice, and independent practice. That range shaped a pragmatic approach to complex problems like addictions, anger, and first responder stress. She has also worked with Veterans, active duty military members, and people navigating LGBTQ concerns.
In treatment she aims to help clients reduce distress with manageable habits and small changes. People can expect help naming unhelpful thoughts, trying out new behaviors, and tracking what works over time. The focus is on day-to-day improvement rather than perfection.
Kristi practices in Louisiana as an LCSW. Sessions are conversational, goal-oriented, and tailored to each person's needs. She also addresses niche areas such as BDSM and alternative sex culture when clients bring those topics into therapy.
How her approaches work online
Kristi uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. CBT often involves setting small goals, trying out different responses, and tracking what helps reduce anxiety, depression, or impulsive habits.She also incorporates Mindfulness Therapy to teach simple attention and breathing practices. These exercises can reduce stress and help people respond more calmly in tense moments rather than react automatically.
Solution-Focused Therapy is part of her toolbox too, focusing conversations on practical next steps and small changes that move a person toward their goals. That approach is useful when someone needs quick strategies to handle specific problems like communication breakdowns or workplace stress.
Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with the client about goals, try techniques, and adjust the plan based on what feels most helpful. Clients take part in deciding which methods to use and which skills to practice between sessions.
Online formats offer flexibility for different needs. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues, phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited, live chat suits brief check-ins or immediate problem-solving, and text messaging can support ongoing reminders and short reflections. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life while still using CBT, mindfulness, and solution-focused techniques effectively.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
Also listed
- ADHD
- Anger management
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Relationship issues
- Self-love
- Sexuality
- Stress, Anxiety
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 23 years
- Licensed
- Louisiana, Oregon
- Languages
- English
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