Heather Burgess , LCMHC

Heather Burgess is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) who earned a master’s degree from Montreat College. She also holds recognition from the National Board of Certified Counselors and is a Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist with the North Carolina Addiction Specialist Professional Practice Board. The LCMHC credential indicates licensure to provide clinical mental health counseling, and the addiction specialist credential reflects additional training in substance use treatment.

Her clinical experience includes work on an ACTT team and with a men’s residential substance use program in Asheville, NC, service as a crisis hospital advocate with Our Voice, Inc., and presenting continuing education courses on sex trafficking. She provides in-home therapy to families when an identified client is at risk of out-of-home placement, using a systems-based approach that coordinates school, home, legal, social services, and prosocial supports. In those settings she draws on Internal Family Systems, cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, motivational interviewing, and art-based therapies.

Heather also offers private counseling for individuals aged 13 and older, addressing concerns such as substance use, depression, anxiety, PTSD, grief and loss, anger management, personality disorders, and common life stressors like divorce or relocation. Her practice is integrative with a strong cognitive behavioral foundation and a trauma-informed perspective. She emphasizes nonjudgmental support, collaborative goal-setting, action-oriented plans, and creative, individualized strategies to help clients expand awareness and work toward meaningful change. Heather looks forward to working with people who are ready to pursue growth.

Therapeutic Approaches for Online Care and Support

Heather integrates Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) into her work to help clients clarify personal values and take committed action toward meaningful life changes. ACT is useful for handling anxiety, stress, and patterns that get in the way of living according to what matters most.

She also uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a practical approach that examines the relationships between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and teaches skills to reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other common concerns. CBT offers structured tools for problem solving and coping.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is another approach Heather employs when emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, or distress tolerance are central goals. DBT provides concrete skills for managing intense emotions and improving relationships.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Heather works collaboratively with each person to explore which methods best fit their needs, goals, and preferences, adjusting strategies as progress unfolds.

Online therapy options such as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging offer flexibility for scheduling, access from different locations, and multiple ways to communicate with licensed professionals. These formats make it easier to maintain consistent care and to choose the style of interaction that feels most comfortable and effective for each individual.