About Kirstina
Kirstina Quast is a licensed independent clinical social worker (LICSW) in Minnesota who helps people facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, parenting strain, and ADHD. She writes plainly and listens closely to what matters most to each person. Her approach aims to make day-to-day life more manageable.
She brings nine years of clinical experience across adult and children's mental health, residential treatment, child welfare, and adoption and foster care services.
Background and approach
That background informs how she responds to concerns tied to family history, adoption-related questions, and caregiving stress. She supports people dealing with divorce, blended family dynamics, and fertility or end-of-life worries. In sessions she blends several approaches to fit the person in front of her.
Cognitive behavioral techniques are used to identify unhelpful thinking and test new behaviors. Attachment-based ideas guide work on relationship patterns and emotional safety. She also draws on narrative work and motivational interviewing to clarify values and build momentum for change.
Kirstina favors practical strategies and creative problem solving. She sees clients as the experts on their lives and focuses on realistic steps you can try between meetings. For trauma-related distress she incorporates EMDR methods alongside other therapies when appropriate.
Starting therapy with her involves a short assessment and a conversation about goals and preferences. She aims to tailor sessions to each person’s needs and to help them practice skills that fit their routine and responsibilities.
How Kirstina’s Approaches Work Online
Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on patterns in relationships and how early bonds shape current reactions. Online sessions can use this approach to help people understand connection, rebuild trust, and practice new ways of relating.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps identify unhelpful thoughts and test new behaviors. In virtual sessions clients work on practical exercises, thought records, and activity plans that they can try between meetings.
EMDR is used for trauma-related concerns to process distressing memories and reduce emotional intensity. When appropriate, EMDR techniques are integrated into an overall plan alongside other approaches.
Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will discuss goals, preferences, and day-to-day realities to decide which methods to try first. Together they track progress and adjust methods as needed to fit the client’s needs.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is useful for longer sessions and guided exercises, phone calls can be helpful when bandwidth is limited, and messaging or live chat works well for quick check-ins or brief coaching. These options offer flexibility for busy schedules and different comfort levels with being on camera.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fertility issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Parenting issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 9 years
- Licensed
- Minnesota
- Languages
- English
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