About Aileen
Aileen Barnhouse helps people manage stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, and life changes. She also supports adults coping with attention deficit disorder (ADHD) and related challenges. Aileen brings 17 years of counseling experience and practices in Iowa as a licensed mental health counselor.
She speaks English and offers sessions by video, phone, live chat, or text messaging. Aileen keeps sessions straightforward and focused on practical steps. She starts by listening to what matters most to each person.
Background and approach
Then she helps identify strengths that can be used to meet daily challenges. Work together often means setting small goals and testing new habits between appointments. Her main approaches include client-centered work and cognitive behavioral tools.
That means conversations that center the person's goals, paired with strategies for changing thoughts and behaviors that get in the way. Sessions commonly cover coping skills for anxiety, planning for life changes, and ways to build more confidence. Aileen follows a collaborative style.
She helps people weigh options, try new strategies, and notice what makes a real difference. Progress often comes from steady practice rather than quick fixes, and she supports that steady pace. Practical matters are part of the process.
Sessions can be scheduled as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. Therapy uses a subscription model that can be canceled at any time, and costs vary with location and therapist availability.
How therapeutic approaches translate to online care
Aileen uses client-centered therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy in online sessions. Client-centered therapy focuses on listening closely and building on a person's strengths. It helps when someone needs a supportive space to sort priorities, make decisions, or rebuild self-esteem.Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts and actions influence feelings. It offers practical tools for managing anxiety, improving mood, and adjusting unhelpful habits. Clients often leave sessions with small exercises to try between meetings.
Finding the best approach is a shared process. The therapist will ask about goals, preferences, and what has or hasn't helped before. Together they decide whether to rely more on supportive listening, CBT skills, or a mix of both and adjust as progress unfolds.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video makes face-to-face conversation possible across distance. Phone can be easier when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text messaging allow quick check-ins and ongoing written support between full sessions. These options make therapy more flexible and easier to fit around work, caregiving, or other obligations.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Abandonment
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Avoidant personality
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Emptiness
- First responder issues
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Personality disorders
- Postpartum depression
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trichotillomania
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 17 years
- Licensed
- Iowa
- Languages
- English