Kristin Johnson
Licensed Professional Counselor
Certified First Responder Counselor
Prior Law Enforcement Experience
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Military/First Responders
Trauma & CPTSD
Attachment & Relational Trauma
Anxiety
Depression
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EMDR
IFS & Parts Work
Polyvagal Theory
Gottman Method
Attachment-based Therapy
Emotionally Focused Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
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Summerville & Mount Pleasant
Virtual across South Carolina -
Individual session: $125
90-minute EMDR session: $200
It’s time to get your life back.
I work with individuals (age 18+). I specialize in working with military members, first responders, and people who’ve been through trauma—especially the kind that doesn’t just live in your memories, but shows up in your body, your relationships, and your day-to-day life. A lot of the clients I work with come in feeling burned out, on edge, disconnected, or just stuck. They’ve tried to push through it, ignore it, or “handle it on their own,” and at some point that stops working.
Many of my clients are dealing with trauma or CPTSD, anxiety, depression, or attachment and relational wounds that make it hard to feel safe, calm, or present—both with themselves and with the people they care about. They may look like they’re functioning just fine on the outside, but internally they’re exhausted, irritable, numb, or constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop.
For military members and first responders especially, this can be complicated by a culture that rewards toughness, self-reliance, and pushing emotions aside. Maybe you’ve never tried therapy before. Maybe you’re here because someone you care about suggested it. Or maybe you’ve tried therapy in the past and it just didn’t click—you talked, but nothing really changed.
Here’s the thing: you’re not broken. What you’re experiencing makes sense given what you’ve been through. Trauma changes how your nervous system works. It affects how you relate to others, how you handle stress, and how safe you feel in your own body. My job isn’t to overanalyze every thought—it’s to help you understand what’s happening, why it’s happening, and how to actually shift it.
You don’t need to have your shit figured out. You just need to show up and be willing to put in the work.
I’m pretty laid-back in sessions. I dress comfortably, I talk like a real human, and I hate the question “how does that make you feel?”. Therapy with me is a space where you don’t have to filter yourself or pretend you’re fine. If you do, I will likely call you on your bullshit.
That said, this isn’t just a place to vent endlessly. I work with clients who want therapy that actually does something. This isn’t just a place to talk about the same things week after week and wonder why nothing changes. We’ll focus on understanding what your nervous system learned through past experiences and how that’s still running the show now, even when it’s no longer helpful. I’ll be honest, direct, and human with you. I’ll also swear occasionally (I’m not sorry) and use dark humor when it fits, because sometimes that’s the easiest way to talk about heavy things.
At the same time, I take this work seriously. We’ll slow things down when needed, but we won’t avoid the hard stuff forever. I use trauma-focused approaches, including EMDR, to help you actually process what you’ve been carrying—not just intellectually understand it. The goal is for your reactions to stop feeling so automatic and out of your control, and for your life to start feeling more manageable again.
This is real work, and it requires effort on both sides. I’ll show up fully, and I expect you to do the same. If you’re willing to engage in the process, change is absolutely possible—and it doesn’t require you to relive everything or be pushed faster than you’re ready for. If you’ve never tried therapy, or if therapy hasn’t worked for you before, this might be different.