About Cristy
Cristy Bixler is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in Illinois who helps people facing stress, anxiety, addiction, trauma and abuse, depression, low self-esteem, relationship and family concerns, eating and sleeping difficulties, parenting challenges, anger, bipolar symptoms, and coping with life changes.
Background and approach
She also addresses intimacy-related issues, ADHD, compassion fatigue, and a broad set of related concerns including abandonment, attachment and family-of-origin issues, caregiving stress, codependency, domestic violence, and substance use problems. Her approach emphasizes a person-centered, strengths-based stance that starts by meeting clients where they are.
Cristy draws on Client-Centered Therapy to validate each person’s experience while integrating Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Motivational Interviewing to build practical skills, improve coping, and support motivation for change. She aims to tailor conversations and treatment plans to each client’s needs, offering empathetic listening and collaborative planning.
With seven years of clinical experience, Cristy combines respectful, compassionate care with goal-oriented methods. She accepts international clients and works in English, offering flexible formats to fit different preferences and schedules.
Approaches that guide online care and skill building
Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes understanding the client’s perspective and building a respectful, nonjudgmental relationship to support personal growth. This approach helps people feel heard and sets the foundation for change by focusing on strengths and the client’s own goals.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) teaches practical ways to identify and shift unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, making it useful for addressing anxiety, depression, sleep and eating issues, and many other concerns. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) adds skills for regulating emotions, tolerating distress, and improving interpersonal effectiveness, which can be helpful for managing intense emotions and relationship difficulties.
Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process, and Cristy will collaborate with clients to determine which methods best match their needs, goals, and preferences. She integrates techniques rather than applying a single model, so treatment plans are adjusted over time based on progress and feedback.
Online therapy with Cristy is offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to increase flexibility and access. These formats allow sessions to fit into varied schedules and daily routines while supporting ongoing skill practice between appointments. Licensed professionals can adapt these methods effectively in online settings to help clients build coping strategies and work toward meaningful change.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Abandonment
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating disorders
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Intellectual disability
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Traumatic brain injury
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Visually impaired
- Women's issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 7 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English