About Kari
Kari Perez is a licensed clinical professional counselor in Maryland with ten years of experience. She works in a straightforward, supportive way to help people manage stress, anxiety, depression, addiction concerns, and ADHD. Kari emphasizes listening first and asking practical questions to find what will help most.
Before moving into outpatient and online work, she spent four years at a long-term residential program for adults with co-occurring addiction and mental health needs.
Background and approach
That time shaped how she helps people build life skills and steady routines. She has also worked with adults, children, and teenagers in a range of settings. Kari uses a mix of approaches rather than a single method.
She draws on client-centered ideas to follow each person’s priorities, and on cognitive-behavioral tools to teach measurable skills for mood and attention. She also uses mindfulness skills and motivational interviewing when a client needs help with change or focus. Sessions are collaborative.
Kari treats the person in front of her as the expert on their own life. She partners with clients to set realistic goals, try small experiments, and adjust strategies that don’t fit. People come to Kari for help with self-esteem, coping with life changes, parenting stress, substance concerns, grief, and relationship or communication problems.
She also supports those working on body image, smoking or vaping cessation, seasonal mood changes, and young adult challenges.
How evidence-based approaches translate to online care
Client-centered therapy focuses on following the person’s lead and building a trusting partnership; it helps when someone needs a space to sort priorities and feel heard. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) teaches concrete skills to change unhelpful thoughts and routines, which can reduce anxiety, improve mood, and support focus and attention. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) emphasizes emotion regulation and coping skills for intense feelings and impulsive behaviors, and can be useful when stress or anger feels overwhelming. Finding the right approach is part of the work. Kari collaborates with each person to decide which methods fit their goals and day-to-day life. She will try strategies, get feedback, and change direction when something isn’t helping. That way the plan stays practical and responsive to the client’s needs. Online sessions offer flexibility for people juggling work, family, or transportation limits. Video calls let the therapist and client work face-to-face from different places. Phone sessions can be a good option when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging allow brief check-ins, skill reminders, or support between longer sessions, making it easier to keep progress moving forward.Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Anger management
Also listed
- ADHD
- Body image
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating disorders
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Isolation / loneliness
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Parenting issues
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 10 years
- Licensed
- Maryland
- Languages
- English
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