These questions may help you select a therapist that is right for you.  They will also tell you more about Dr. Karla Austin:

1. What are the therapist's credentials?  Do they have a masters degree or a doctorate?  What is their degree in?  Psychology and Marriage & Family Therapy provide good training in doing therapy.  Doctoral level providers should be better trained than Masters level providers as it is an advanced degree and involves more coursework and practicum training.  Ask for an explanation for the letters after a counselors’ name.

Dr. Karla Austin has a masters degree in Marriage & Family Therapy (MMFT) and is licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT).  She also holds a doctorate in Counseling Psychology (PH.D).

2. What difference does it make if my therapist/ psychologist is a Christian?  Does the counselor share your values or will they be respectful of the values you have?  Seeing a counselor with similar values to yourself can be important, especially with children, marriages, or those whose values are not well identified.  Many in the field of psychology like to think they are value absent and that their values are irrelevant in the therapy office.  For some issues, this may be true.  For many issues, it is not.  Marriage values, parenting values, ethical issues, sexual issues, relationship problems, extended family values, and many other issues are related to values.  It is not possible to avoid values altogether.

Dr. Austin identifies herself as a Christian.  She does not impose her values on her clients, but works to help clients become congruent with their own values.  She believes in marriage and says “any marriage can work; it just takes two people who want it.”  She is careful not to take sides, alienate one party or another, and not to pass judgment on any client.  She will not support a child or teenager in disrespecting their parent, or coach individuals toward affairs or divorce proceedings.  She will not tell clients what to do, but will challenge them to compare their values to their lives.  She will encourage them to respect themselves and those in their lives.  She takes great care in being respectful of her clients’ values and has worked with people from almost every faith and ethnic background.

3. How long has the therapist been counseling?  Experience does make a difference in this field.

Dr. Karla Austin has been seeing clients since 1988, first as a masters level Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and then as a doctoral level Licensed Psychologist.  

4. What does the therapist charge?  Are those charges for their credentials or for someone supervising them?  Do the charges compare to others with similar credentials in your area?  Often, in a larger counseling center, the masters level therapists charge the same as doctoral level therapists because some of the fee goes to the supervising psychologist.  Pay only for what you get.

Dr. Karla Austin believes that counseling should be affordable.  She charges less than the industry standard in order to make her services available for most people.  Her fees are for her own credentials and  are below those of most others with the same credentials in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas.

5. What is the therapist’s style of therapy? There are many styles, including cognitive-behavioral, family systems, psychoanalytic/psychodynamic, humanistic, etc. The therapist should be able to tell you which style they use and why. The therapist may call themselves "eclectic", meaning that he or she combines several styles.  If that is the case, ask the therapist which styles s/he blends and what is helpful from each style.

Dr. Karla Austin works from a Family Systems style of therapy most often. That means she sees a client in the context of their family, job, values, and history.  She also claims cognitive behavioral therapy as a style in some of her work.  That means she focuses more on how a client thinks and what they do rather than how they feel.  Sometimes the issues in counseling dictate different needs for therapy style.  Usually, Dr. Karla Austin puts her focus on the present and the desired future.  She does not spend any more time on the past than necessary.  She reports being solution focused in general.  That means she’s aimed at solving problems as quickly and efficiently as possible.  She wants clients to gain tools that allow them to succeed outside of therapy as soon as possible.

6. Has the therapist treated problems like yours before?  What does he or she think needs to be done for you? The therapist may not have a fully-formed plan after only talking to you briefly but s/he should have some "plan of attack" for the general sort of problems that you present.

Dr. Karla Austin has been in practice since 1988.  She has experience with many issues and is able to work with a variety of clients.  She will tell you if she is not qualified or not well equipped to help you deal with your problems.  She will talk to you about your goals and will want you to play an active part in deciding upon a treatment plan.  She will refer you to another psychologist or therapist if needed.

7. How long does the average patient stay?  The style of therapy will affect this answer somewhat.  If a therapist is solution focused, they likely do more short-term therapy.  Psychoanalytic or psychodynamic therapists may see clients for years on average.  Some issues do require more treatment time, but sometimes only one to five sessions is sufficient to meet one’s goals.

Dr. Karla Austin will see clients for varying lengths of time depending on their needs.  Often, clients will achieve their goals in three to twelve sessions.  Sometimes, they may conclude their work in a fewer or greater number of sessions.  Discussion of your counseling needs will clarify the treatment time expected as a treatment plan is devised.

8. Does the therapist work with other referrals?  Appropriate referrals may be to one’s church, physician, community services, and other support systems.

Dr. Karla Austin thinks it is very important to utilize community resources that may be available.  She wants her clients to be healthy and functional in the world, not dependent on her for stability.

Feel free to ask any other questions you think are important. It may be helpful to bring a list of questions with you in written format to make sure they all are covered and to help you if you become anxious in the process. You may want to reconsider a therapist who is unwilling or uncomfortable in providing you the above information.