Accepting New Clients!
Session format options:
In-Person
Virtual / Telehealth
Autumn Vaca, LMFT, LCAS (she/her)
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Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (#2177)
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Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist (#25408)
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BA, Psychology and Italian, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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MA, Marriage and Family Therapy, Appalachian State University
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Graduate Certificate in Addictions Counseling, Appalachian State University
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Graduate Certificate in Systemic Multicultural Counseling, Appalachian State University
Autumn is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist who has been working with children and adults since 2018. Autumn has worked in a variety of settings, including in-home therapy with children and their families, private practice, and community based therapy with pregnant and postpartum women struggling with substance use.
Autumn currently works with adolescents and adults ages 16 and up on a variety of issues, including anxiety, depression, trauma, relationship stress, self-esteem, ADHD, and substance abuse. Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, Autumn has also enjoyed supporting educators in managing work-related stress.
Autumn typically works with individuals, however she enjoys including loved ones in the therapeutic process when appropriate for additional healing and support. In her work, Autumn uses an eclectic, systems based approach. This means that she will help you explore and gain insight into how you are impacted by the people and systems you interact with regularly and tailor her approach to your specific needs.
SPECIALTY AREAS
ADHD & Neurodiversity
Relationship Stress
Anxiety
Support for Educators
Substance Abuse
Depression & Mood Disorders
Trauma & PTSD
Self-Esteem
DBT
From Autumn:
"Becoming a therapist felt like an inevitability for me...
"I took my first psychology class in high school and knew from that moment that I wanted to work in the mental health field. One of the things that I love the most about being a therapist is having the opportunity to engage deeply with others; getting to know different people’s hopes, struggles, values, and dreams is an honor and remains continually interesting to me.
I believe that it is essential to examine how you are impacted not only by the symptoms you may be experiencing, but by other larger systemic and cultural factors, including aspects of identity as well as political and economic systems. I treat therapy as a collaborative process, respecting that you are the expert in your own experiences, while also providing resources and concrete coping strategies as needed. I utilize an eclectic approach, incorporating aspects of different modalities such as DBT, CBT, solution focused therapy, and psychodynamic therapy.
In our first session together, we will focus on the primary issue that brought you to therapy, explore significant life experiences, and examine your strength and resilience. We will work together to develop goals for therapy, such as improving communication skills, healing from traumatic life events, increasing feelings of self-worth, or calming an anxious body or mind.
Into each session, I bring curiosity, warmth, directness, and humor, seeking to create a safe and nonjudgmental space to explore whatever challenges you face. We will work together to gain insight into patterns of behavior that are no longer serving you, strengthen your relationships with others, and help you create a life that fulfills you. I believe that therapy, while not always easy, can be an overwhelmingly joyful experience.
In my life outside of the therapy room, I focus my time on snuggling my cats and dog, tending to my struggling garden, consuming audiobooks at record speed, and stomping through the woods with my loved ones.