Heather Burgess , LCMHC

Heather Burgess is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) who began practicing in 2018 after earning a master’s degree from Montreat College. She is also licensed with the National Board of Certified Counselors and holds a Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist credential with the North Carolina Addiction Specialist Professional Practice Board. The LCMHC designation indicates a state license to provide mental health counseling, and the addiction specialist credential reflects additional training in substance use treatment.

Her professional experience includes work on an ACTT team and service in a men’s residential substance use program in Asheville, NC, as well as time spent as a crisis hospital advocate with Our Voice, Inc. She has delivered continuing education courses on sex trafficking to varied groups and has provided in-home therapy for families where an identified client faces risk of out-of-home placement. That in-home work uses a systems-based approach across school, home, legal, social services, and prosocial involvement to support lasting change.

Heather integrates a range of therapeutic tools, drawing from Internal Family Systems, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Motivational Interviewing, and art-based therapy. She also offers private counseling to individuals aged 13 and up, addressing issues such as personality disorders, substance use, depression, anxiety, PTSD, grief and loss, anger management, and life transitions including divorce and relocation. Her primary approach is integrative and is rooted heavily in CBT with a trauma-informed perspective.

Heather approaches work with clients in a nonjudgmental, action-oriented manner, helping people define specific treatment goals and supporting progress through collaborative planning. She emphasizes empowerment and expanded self-awareness, encouraging clients to bring their expertise about their own lives while offering structured tools and creative strategies to overcome obstacles and achieve meaningful change.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care Options

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps clients identify and shift unhelpful thinking patterns and behaviors. It is practical and goal-oriented, often used for anxiety, depression, and stress-related difficulties. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) teaches skills for managing intense emotions, improving interpersonal effectiveness, and tolerating distress - it is useful for emotion regulation and relationship challenges. Motivational Interviewing is a conversational, client-centered method that strengthens personal motivation for change and is commonly applied in addressing substance use and ambivalence about behavior change.

Determining the best approach is part of the therapeutic process. Heather works collaboratively with clients and other licensed professionals to explore goals, preferences, and clinical needs, then tailors treatment using one or more approaches that fit the individual. This collaborative process helps clarify which methods will be most helpful over time.

Online therapy options such as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging increase flexibility and accessibility for clients balancing work, family, and other commitments. These formats allow consistent engagement with therapeutic work, make it easier to schedule sessions, and support continuity of care when in-person meetings are difficult, while enabling therapists to deliver evidence-based interventions in ways that fit each client’s life.