Meet Vanessa

Licensed Professional Counselor Associate

Vanessa Lai, LPC-A

Fee: $130 / 45 min session Supervised by: Leigh Rainwater, LPC-S
Pronouns: She / Her
Session Format: In-Person & Virtual / Telehealth / Walk & Talk (as arranged) Works with: Teens 12+, Adults Under 40 Practice passions: Trauma-informed somatic work, Creative and expressive therapies, Mindfulness, Motivational interviewing

AREAS of FOCUS:

  • Gifted and “Underachieving” 

  • BIPOC issues

  • LGBTQIA+ with a focus on trans or gender expansive folk

  • Family Dynamics

  • Depression and Anxiety

  • Intergenerational trauma

  • Neurodivergence & Sensory processing sensitivities

  • Substance abuse

  • Identity

Get to know Vanessa:

Outside of therapy, she enjoys watching scary movies and adventuring with her two dogs, Bean and Pearl. She loves all animals, seeing live music, drag queens, going to see films at AFS and Alamo Drafthouse, getting carried away with another art or craft project, and gardening in her backyard. She has a  ridiculous number of indoor plants and enjoys listening to podcasts. Oftentimes you will find her fostering dogs from APA! or finding a new form of exercise.

Therapeutic Approach:

Vanessa uses a bottoms up approach to counseling with an emphasis on  systems and relationships. She prefers a mix of strengths based, client centered frameworks that considers social and cultural contexts. She focuses on creating a counseling space built on safety and authenticity. When coming to therapy you will be met with warmth, non-judgement, and open mindedness. Oftentimes sessions with Vanessa go beyond traditional talk therapy since she uses her art background to introduce creative and expressive techniques like somatic experiencing, narrative, and art therapy. She believes therapy can be a space to explore your strengths and identity while developing the relationships around you.

Professional BACKGROUND:

Vanessa’s passion for the creative arts started at a young age and led her to study fine art and art history for her undergraduate degree at Florida State University. After graduating, she worked at a children’s art studio and got  licensed as an esthetician at Aveda. She carries her love of intimate, healing environments and caring for clients from her successful career as a skin therapist into the world of counseling. 

During her graduate studies at Adams State University, she gravitated towards  any approaches that allowed her to advocate for her clients and promote inclusivity in the mental health field. She spent her graduate internship at a local community-based non-profit which allowed her to realize her passion for working with teens and young adults in particular. She feels very at home in Austin and loves to do anything that keeps her engaged with the local  community. She loved running groups for teens at Manor High and seeing young clients connect in a meaningful way.