Frequently Asked Questions
What therapy services do you offer?
I provide one-on-one recurring therapy sessions as well as Deep Work sessions from my office in Chattanooga and online for Tennessee residents. My services are nonreligious, affirming and inclusive, and oriented towards liberatory and decolonizing practices.
How do I get started with therapy?
Schedule a free 15-minute consultation call here. If we decide I’m not the best therapist for you, I’ll do what I can to help you find other folks who might be.
What is the difference between counseling and therapy?
Mostly, practitioner preference! My licensure type is as a Licensed Professional Counselor, and my primary professional organizations are the National Board for Certified Counselors and the American Counseling Association. These names are more tied to the history of the profession. I consider “therapy” to be basically interchangeable with “counseling” and often use “therapy” since that is the term used by most folks in pop culture and social media at this point.
How long do therapy appointments last?
For “traditional” recurring therapy, sessions last approximately 45 minutes. For Deep Work sessions, the duration can be anywhere from 90 minutes to 3 hours for a session.
Will I be in therapy forever?
Not unless you want to be! With traditional therapy, some clients feel satisfied with their progress in as few as 3-4 months, many clients find it takes 9 months to a year to get where they want to be, and some clients choose to continue checking in with their therapist for multiple years after their main treatment. With Deep Work sessions, depending on how often we meet, you may feel satisfied with progress made in as little as 2 months.
Are my problems bad enough to come to therapy? I had a pretty normal childhood.
If you’ve recently experienced a lot of change or loss in your life, if you don’t have many friends you can truly rely on and feel safe around, if you are always staying up too late scrolling, if you find yourself overeating or unable to eat, if you struggle with sleeping, or if you wake up feeling exhausted most days, therapy can help you. Regardless of whether you’ve experienced what we would diagnose as “trauma.”
How much does therapy cost?
My traditional talk therapy sessions run 45 minutes and the session fee is $135 (whether it is in person or virtual). My Deep Work sessions start at $290 for a weekday 90-minute session and are priced accordingly based on scheduling.
Do I need insurance to pay for therapy?
Many therapists take insurance as a form of payment for therapy, though they must take your insurance in order for you to be able to use it. I do not accept insurance for therapy; my clients pay from their own pocket and sometimes are reimbursed from their employer or insurance plan for “out of network services.” For more on financial policies, visit my page here.
How do you know if you will benefit from therapy with me?
Therapy with me WILL be:
Engaging and educational, informed by my own continued education, training, and research
Affirming of all the strengths and gifts of having a neurodivergent brain - there’s room to be sensitive and weird here.
Trauma-informed and respectful of your lived experiences
As full of laughter and humor as possible
As deep or intellectually complex as you want it to be
A safe place to vent about discuss the things your conservative family members/coworkers don’t care about or understand
Therapy with me WON’T be:
A wasted hour spent with someone sitting and nodding silently or just reflecting your own thoughts back in a confusing echo
Full of psychobabble, therapist jargon, or other bullshit
Another place you have to mask, perform, or pretend
An experience where I teach you stuff you could easily learn from Google
The thing that fucks up your day, week, or life (unless you want it to be). What’s working for you is what’s working (until it isn’t).
You listening to my opinions about your problems
Something you commit to for the rest of your life
Karen Chambless, LPC-MHSP, NCC — Credentials
Karen Chambless (she/her) is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) in the state of Tennessee with Mental Health Service Provider (MHSP) designation. This means she has completed a masters degree in counseling from an accredited school, completed over 500 hours of training and clinical work while in school, passed two national examinations and a state exam, and practiced for over two years under supervision by an already licensed counselor, accruing at least 3,000 hours of experience and 150 hours of supervision. She is also a Nationally Certified Counselor from the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC). Karen has been practicing therapy for 5 years, but spent the first 25+ years of her life as a quintessential eldest daughter and the “mom friend” of her friend group, so she’s had a long time to hone her listening and supportive-question-asking skills.
Karen Chambless is an expert and clinical specialist in religious trauma. She has advanced training and experience in treating both complex trauma and religious trauma, as well as training and experience working with folks figuring out their queer/trans identity and/or neurotype (Autism, ADHD, Highly Sensitive, etc). Karen identifies as Queer & Highly Sensitive and is passionate about supporting folks with LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent identities to grow and heal and be their whole magical selves.