About Kari
Kari Perez uses a practical, person-centered approach to help people manage stress, anxiety, addiction, and mood concerns. She identifies as a partner in the process and focuses on helping people meet the goals they set for themselves. Kari lists MD, LCPC as her credentials and practices in Maryland.
She draws from multiple therapy styles to match the work to the person. That means sessions may include skills practice, goal-setting, and conversations about what is getting in the way.
Background and approach
Kari’s background includes work in a long-term residential program for adults with co-occurring addiction and mental health issues. She also has outpatient experience working both in person and virtually. People often seek her help for depression, anxiety, and low motivation or self-esteem.
She also supports those facing addiction, coping with life changes, parenting stress, grief, and issues related to LGBT identity. Additional areas she addresses include body image, communication problems, postpartum mood concerns, and smoking or vaping cessation. In sessions she centers the client’s own knowledge of their life.
She listens first, then offers techniques drawn from approaches like cognitive behavioral methods and mindfulness. She encourages small, measurable steps and checks in on progress along the way. Her style is straightforward and focused on practical change.
She helps clients build life skills, improve coping, and clarify values so they can move toward goals they care about.
Therapeutic approaches and how they work online
Client-centered therapy focuses on the person’s own goals and experiences. The therapist listens closely, reflects understanding, and helps the client decide what to try next. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) looks at how thoughts and actions affect mood and behavior; sessions often include specific exercises and homework to change unhelpful patterns. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) teaches skills for managing intense emotions and improving distress tolerance, using step-by-step practice and coaching language.Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with the client about their needs, goals, and preferences and then suggest approaches to try. Together they track progress and adjust methods when something isn’t working well.
Online work offers flexible ways to connect. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions are useful when bandwidth or camera use is limited. Live chat and text-based messaging support brief check-ins, skill practice, or ongoing reflections between sessions. These formats make it easier to fit therapy into busy routines and to continue consistent work toward goals.
Questions people ask
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What this counselor 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