Therapy in Lakeland that actually fits your life.
A licensed therapist and supervised graduate interns on one team, so you get matched to the right approach for your situation, not just the first open slot.
- Florida-licensed therapyA multi-clinician team on South Florida Avenue, so specialty and schedule can actually line up.
- Matched to the right approachCBT, EMDR, or DBT chosen for your situation, not assigned at random.
- In-person or Florida telehealthSee us in downtown Lakeland or by secure video anywhere in Florida.
Free · Confidential
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A therapist coordinator will reach out within one business day. If you would rather not wait, call (863) 510-2624.
The right fit matters more than the right acronym.
The single biggest reason therapy does not work is a mismatch between client and therapist, not a bad therapist. A team in one office means we can match you to the person whose specialty and approach actually fit your situation.
Request a callbackMost people searching "therapist Lakeland FL" land on a directory that cannot tell them who actually has an opening this week.
Ascend Mind and Body's Lakeland office, on South Florida Avenue near Munn Park, has a multi-clinician talk-therapy team covering CBT, DBT, EMDR, IFS, and ERP for anxiety, depression, trauma, PTSD, OCD, ADHD-related challenges, grief, and relationship issues. In-person and Florida telehealth are both available, and most new clients are scheduled within one week. Call (863) 510-2624 or request an appointment online.
Most searches for "therapist Lakeland FL" land on a directory: Psychology Today, GoodTherapy, TherapyDen, a handful of solo-practitioner websites. Directories are useful for browsing, but they cannot tell you who actually has an opening this week or whether a given clinician's specialty matches your specific problem. This page is built to answer those questions directly, with real names and real modality detail, because that is the information that actually helps you pick.
The single biggest reason therapy does not work is a bad fit between client and therapist, not a bad therapist. With a multi-clinician team in one office, we can match you to someone whose specialty, approach, and availability actually line up with your situation, instead of handing you whoever has the first opening and hoping for the best. If the fit is wrong after a session or two, you can switch clinicians on our team at no penalty.
Illustrative
Our Lakeland therapy team
Lakeland is staffed by one licensed clinical supervisor and two supervised graduate and registered interns, each with a distinct specialty, so the team covers a wider range of presentations than a single-therapist practice can.
- Licensed Mental Health Counselor
- Clinical supervisor on staff
- EMDR-trained care
- Psychological testing coordination
Kaylee Mills Brenneman, Ed.S, MEd, LMHC is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Clinical Supervisor with graduate training at the specialist level (Ed.S). She oversees the intern team at Lakeland and carries her own caseload of adult clients. Coverage for therapy varies by plan; see our insurance page for the current matrix for those plans. Her focus areas are anxiety, depression, life transitions, and clinical supervision.
Skyler Anderson, RMHCI is a Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern focused on trauma, PTSD, and anxiety. As a registered intern, Skyler practices under Kaylee's direct clinical supervision, which is why supervised-intern sessions are offered at a lower cost while the standard of care, case review, and documentation are the same as for a licensed clinician.
Ashley Huston is a graduate student intern completing her clinical training at Lakeland under Kaylee Brenneman's supervision. Ashley now offers EMDR therapy for trauma as part of a mind-body integrative approach, and her supervised sessions are among the more accessible options in Polk County for EMDR-trained care.
Our Lakeland office also offers psychological and psychoeducational testing, including ADHD evaluations, autism assessments, learning disability testing, and comprehensive psychological evaluations. Most therapy practices leave you to arrange this alone; Ascend helps you coordinate it so the results feed back to your ongoing therapist directly.
How we match you to the right therapist
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1
You tell us what is going on
At intake we ask about the problem you want help with, what you have already tried (including past therapy, if any), your insurance or budget, and your scheduling constraints.
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2
We match on fit, not first-available
That gets you matched to Kaylee, Skyler, or Ashley based on actual fit rather than whoever answers the phone first. Kaylee tends to fit structured, goal-oriented work and in-network coverage; Skyler fits anxiety tied to a stressful or traumatic event; Ashley fits clients specifically seeking EMDR or a mind-body approach.
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3
We say so if none of us is right
If none of the three is the right fit, we will say so and refer you to the appropriate specialist inside Ascend or, if we genuinely cannot help, outside it.
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4
You can switch at any time
If the fit is wrong after a session or two, you can move to a different clinician on the Lakeland team at no penalty. Fit is one of the strongest predictors of whether therapy helps.
What the credentials actually mean
Credential letters after a therapist's name are not decoration; they tell you exactly where someone is in their training and what oversight applies.
- LMHC (Licensed Mental Health Counselor) has completed a master's or specialist-level graduate program, at least 1,500 to 2,000 hours of supervised post-graduate clinical experience, and passed a national licensure exam. An LMHC can practice independently.
- Ed.S (Education Specialist) is a post-master's, pre-doctoral graduate degree, typically one additional year beyond a master's, often with an emphasis on assessment, supervision, or advanced clinical practice.
- RMHCI (Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern) has completed their graduate degree and is registered with the State of Florida to accrue supervised clinical hours toward licensure, practicing under a qualified supervisor.
- Graduate student intern is enrolled in a graduate counseling or clinical psychology program and completing a required practicum under direct, active supervision.
All three tiers deliver real, structured, evidence-based therapy. The differences are in licensure stage and independence of practice, not in whether the care is legitimate.
Conditions we treat in Lakeland
The Lakeland team treats anxiety, depression, trauma and PTSD, OCD, ADHD-related challenges, grief and life transitions, and relationship issues, and provides affirming care for LGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent clients, plus faith-integrated counseling for clients who want it.
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AnxietyMost common
Generalized anxiety, social anxiety, panic disorder, and health anxiety. CBT-first, with exposure for avoidance patterns.
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Depression
From a first major depressive episode to persistent low mood, with behavioral activation and CBT.
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Trauma and PTSD
Childhood, accident, medical, and combat-related trauma, primarily through EMDR and trauma-focused CBT.
Read more -
OCD
Treated with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), the first-line, most strongly evidenced psychotherapy for OCD.
Read more -
Adult ADHD
Therapy for the downstream effects: emotional dysregulation, missed commitments, and executive-function shame.
Read more -
Grief and transitions
Job loss, divorce, relocation, grief, retirement, and new parenthood, treated as meaningful disruptions, not disorders.
Read more
If what you are experiencing feels like an immediate danger to yourself or someone else, call 988 or 911 now. For everything short of that, a first session is simply information, not a commitment.
Anxiety disorders
Anxiety is the most common reason clients start therapy at Lakeland, covering generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety, panic disorder, and health anxiety. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent mental health conditions in U.S. adults, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the psychotherapy with the strongest research base for treating them. Our approach is CBT-first, with exposure-based techniques added for panic disorder and health anxiety when avoidance is part of the pattern. In practice, that means early sessions focus on the specific thoughts and physical sensations that show up before anxiety spikes, then building a structured plan to test those thoughts against reality rather than avoiding the trigger.
Depression
We see the full range, from a first major depressive episode to persistent low mood (dysthymia) that has been present for years. The NIMH's depression overview notes that combining psychotherapy with medication management, where clinically indicated, tends to outperform either alone for moderate to severe depression. Because Ascend also runs a telehealth psychiatry service for Florida patients, therapy and medication management can be coordinated for clients who need both, without switching practices. Depression therapy typically starts with behavioral activation, deliberately scheduling small activities even when motivation is absent, because action tends to precede motivation, not the other way around.
Trauma and PTSD
Childhood trauma, domestic violence, accidents, medical trauma, and combat-related PTSD are all treated at Lakeland, primarily through EMDR (with Ashley Huston) and trauma-focused CBT. The American Psychological Association's Clinical Practice Guideline for PTSD and the VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for PTSD both list EMDR and trauma-focused CBT among the strongly recommended treatments. A common misconception is that trauma therapy requires retelling the traumatic event in detail, over and over; EMDR is specifically designed to avoid that, which is part of why it has become a preferred approach for clients who found traditional talk therapy for trauma too retraumatizing to continue.
OCD
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is treated with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), which the International OCD Foundation identifies as the first-line, most strongly evidenced psychotherapy for OCD. ERP is deliberately uncomfortable in a structured, paced way; a therapist who is not specifically ERP-trained can inadvertently reinforce compulsions through reassurance. Ask at intake to confirm ERP-specific experience for this presentation. ERP works by helping you sit with the anxiety a trigger produces without performing the compulsion that normally relieves it, which teaches your nervous system that the anxiety will come down on its own, without the ritual.
ADHD-related challenges
Therapy does not diagnose ADHD, but it treats what comes with it: emotional dysregulation, relationship strain from missed commitments, and executive-function-related shame. Diagnosis happens through our telehealth psychiatry service or through psychological testing coordination; once diagnosed, therapy addresses the downstream effects, often by building external systems (routines, reminders, accountability) rather than trying to "just try harder," and by unpacking the shame that tends to accumulate after years of being told to be more organized.
Autism and neurodivergence
We provide affirming, non-pathologizing therapy for autistic and otherwise neurodivergent adults, focused on the client's actual goals rather than forcing conformity to neurotypical norms. That means we do not treat masking, eye contact, or social scripts as goals in themselves; we work on what the client identifies as genuinely getting in the way of the life they want, whether that is communication in relationships, sensory overwhelm, or burnout from years of unsustainable masking.
LGBTQIA+ affirming care
A licensed therapist and supervised graduate interns on the Lakeland team are trained in LGBTQIA+ affirming therapeutic approaches. Ascend is an LGBTQIA+ affirming practice sitewide, which means identity is never treated as the presenting problem; the actual presenting problem gets the same evidence-based treatment it would for any client, in a context where a client does not have to explain or defend their identity to their therapist first.
Grief, relationships, and faith-integrated care
Job loss, divorce, relocation, grief, retirement, and new parenthood are common reasons Polk County adults come to Lakeland. Individual therapy can also address relational patterns on its own, focusing on the client's own contribution to a repeating dynamic without requiring the other person in the room; for couples or families who want to be in the room together, see our dedicated couples therapy in Lakeland page. For clients who want their faith actively part of the process rather than set aside, we offer faith-integrated counseling on request. It is optional, and it sits alongside evidence-based treatment rather than replacing it.
Ready to find the right therapist?
With a multi-clinician team, we can match you to someone whose specialty and style actually fit what you are working on. The first conversation is information, not a commitment.
In-person in downtown Lakeland or by Florida telehealth statewide.
Evidence-based modalities, explained honestly
Illustrative
The match matters more than the acronym. Your presenting problem, not the next open slot, should decide which modality you start with.
CBT works best for structured, thought-pattern-driven problems like anxiety and depression; DBT-informed skills for emotions that feel too intense to manage; EMDR for a specific traumatic memory that still feels raw; IFS for internal conflict and self-criticism; ERP is the standard for OCD. Most clients benefit from one primary modality, not all five at once.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT is structured and skills-based: you learn to identify the specific thoughts driving anxious or depressed feelings, test whether those thoughts are accurate, and build new behavioral patterns. It has the deepest research base of any outpatient therapy for anxiety, depression, and OCD (in combination with ERP), and is typically the fastest to show measurable change for a single, well-defined problem. Most of the change happens through what you practice between sessions, not just what is discussed in the room.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), skills-informed
Full DBT is a structured, multi-component program; our Lakeland team offers DBT-informed skills, meaning distress-tolerance and emotion-regulation techniques drawn from the DBT model, most useful for clients whose emotions escalate quickly or who have features of emotional dysregulation. In session, this looks like naming the specific emotion and its intensity, practicing a distress-tolerance skill before problem-solving, and gradually building a personal toolkit. The goal is not to eliminate intense emotion, but to widen the gap between feeling something intensely and acting on it immediately.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
EMDR is an eight-phase protocol in which the client recalls a distressing memory while engaging in bilateral stimulation (typically guided eye movements). It is endorsed as a first-line PTSD treatment by the World Health Organization's mhGAP guidelines, the American Psychological Association, and the VA/DoD. EMDR does not work identically for every person or every memory; some clients see rapid shifts, others need more sessions, and a small number do not respond. Before starting the reprocessing phases, your therapist builds a foundation of coping skills so you have a way to steady yourself if a session brings up more than expected.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
IFS treats the mind as made up of different "parts," some protective, some wounded, and works toward internal self-leadership rather than eliminating any part outright. It is a newer evidence base than CBT or EMDR but is well suited to clients who describe feeling like they are "at war with themselves," including chronic self-criticism and internal conflict about competing goals. Sessions often involve identifying which part is most active, understanding what that part is protecting against, and building enough internal trust that even the most self-critical parts can be worked with rather than fought.
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
ERP is the gold-standard treatment for OCD: a client is gradually and deliberately exposed to a feared trigger while resisting the compulsive response, under close therapist guidance. It is also used, in modified form, for panic disorder and specific phobias. ERP starts by building a hierarchy of feared situations, ranked from mildly uncomfortable to most distressing, and working up that list at a pace the client agrees to in advance. Nothing is sprung on a client without warning; the collaborative planning is part of what makes ERP effective rather than simply distressing.
Trauma-focused CBT and mind-body approaches
Some trauma presentations, particularly complex or repeated trauma, need more structure than standard talk therapy but a different pacing than EMDR. Trauma-focused CBT and mind-body integrative techniques fill that gap, combining cognitive restructuring around trauma-related beliefs (about safety, trust, or self-blame) with body-based grounding techniques for clients whose trauma responses show up physically, through hypervigilance, a startle response, or dissociation, rather than purely as intrusive thoughts.
Which modality fits which concern
A general starting guide, not a self-diagnosis tool. Many clients need more than one over the course of treatment, and your therapist adjusts as your presentation becomes clearer.
| If your main concern is | Modality most often used first |
|---|---|
| Generalized anxiety, social anxiety, panic | CBT, with exposure elements for panic and avoidance |
| Depression, low motivation, persistent low mood | CBT with behavioral activation |
| A specific traumatic memory or event | EMDR |
| Complex or repeated trauma | Trauma-focused CBT and mind-body approaches |
| Obsessive-compulsive symptoms | ERP |
| Emotions that escalate quickly or feel unmanageable | DBT-informed skills |
| Internal conflict, chronic self-criticism | IFS |
Your first session, and what happens between them
No polished explanation is required. "I just feel stuck" or "something is off" is a completely normal starting point.
What to expect at your first session
Before the visit. Fill out intake forms online. Pick the therapist who seems like the best fit from the profiles above, or call the office and we will help you match based on your specific situation, insurance, and schedule.
During your first session. About 50 minutes for individual therapy, 60 minutes for couples or family sessions. Your therapist will ask what brought you in, what you are hoping to get out of therapy, and how things are going day to day. This first session is also a two-way evaluation: you are assessing fit as much as your therapist is assessing your needs.
After the session. You will typically schedule your next visit before you leave. Weekly sessions are standard to start; cadence adjusts from there. If a specific modality like EMDR or ERP is indicated, your therapist will explain what that protocol actually involves before starting it, not after.
What happens between sessions
Most of the actual change in therapy happens outside the therapy room. A typical week between Lakeland sessions might include a specific practice assignment: testing an anxious thought against evidence, practicing a distress-tolerance skill in a real moment, or noticing and logging a pattern you are working to change. Clients who engage with between-session practice consistently tend to see faster, more durable change than clients who treat therapy as an hour of talking with no carryover to the rest of the week.
Telehealth versus in-person therapy in Lakeland
The short answer: for most anxiety, depression, and adjustment-related therapy, video and in-person sessions produce comparable outcomes; psychological testing and some trauma work are better done in person.
The American Psychological Association's telepsychology guidance supports video-based therapy as a legitimate, effective delivery method for most outpatient presentations, and Florida law permits FL-licensed clinicians to see FL-resident clients by telehealth statewide. A Lakeland client who cannot easily get to South Florida Avenue during a workday, or a client in Winter Haven or Bartow who wants to avoid the drive, can do ongoing sessions by video with the same clinician they would see in person. Some EMDR protocols are still done in the office.
Myths about therapy, addressed honestly
- "Therapy is only for people in crisis." Most Lakeland clients are not in crisis; they are dealing with ongoing stress, a relationship pattern, or a life transition that has not resolved on its own.
- "A good therapist will just tell me what to do." A good therapist helps you understand your own patterns clearly enough to make your own decisions.
- "I'll have to feel worse before I feel better." This is sometimes true for trauma processing specifically, briefly and by design, but it is not a universal rule. For most anxiety and depression work, clients report feeling somewhat better within the first several sessions.
- "Therapy takes years to work." Some work is genuinely long-term, but a specific, well-defined problem like panic attacks or a single traumatic memory can show meaningful change in weeks to a few months of structured work.
- "If I need medication too, therapy has failed." Needing both is common, not a failure of either, which is why Ascend offers psychiatry alongside therapy rather than treating them as competing options.
Common concerns before a first session
"Will my employer or family find out?" No. What you discuss in therapy is protected under HIPAA and Florida confidentiality law. The only exceptions are the standard, legally required ones: imminent danger to yourself or someone else, or suspected abuse of a child or vulnerable adult.
"What if I cry, or don't know what to say?" Both are completely normal and neither derails a session. Part of the job is helping you find the starting point, not requiring you to arrive with one.
"What if I start and realize I picked the wrong problem to work on first?" That happens often. Therapy is allowed to redirect once you and your therapist see the fuller picture; you are not locked into the reason you gave when you first called.
How therapy fits with primary care and psychiatry at Ascend
Talk therapy, primary care, and psychiatry are separate services with separate scopes. Where Ascend differs from a standalone therapy practice is that all three exist inside the same organization, which means a Lakeland therapy client whose depression would likely benefit from a medication evaluation can be referred internally to our telehealth psychiatry service without starting over with a new intake, and a primary care patient whose provider notices signs of anxiety or depression can be referred to Lakeland therapy the same way. Each provider still makes independent clinical decisions; coordination just means faster handoffs.
For the small subset of clients with treatment-resistant depression who have not responded adequately to therapy and standard medication management, Ascend also offers ketamine therapy at our Wesley Chapel location. Ketamine is a Schedule III controlled substance used off-label for treatment-resistant depression and select indications under the supervision of a licensed prescriber; it is not a first-line option, individual responses vary, and it is never presented as a guaranteed fix.
Confidentiality on telehealth sessions
Florida telehealth sessions at Ascend run through a HIPAA-compliant video platform, not a consumer video-call app. For your side of the call, find a private space where you will not be interrupted, use headphones if you are in a shared living situation, and treat the session with the same confidentiality expectations as an in-person visit. Your therapist will confirm your location at the start of each telehealth session, since Florida law requires the client to be physically present in Florida at the time of the session.
Insurance and access, stated plainly
Coverage for talk therapy at Ascend varies by plan except for Kaylee Brenneman's UnitedHealthcare panel. Licensed-clinician and supervised graduate-intern options are both available, the full fee is shared with you up front, and we issue superbills for PPO reimbursement. We are not going to tell you insurance covers something it does not.
In-network options at Lakeland
- Kaylee Brenneman is in-network with UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna, ChampVA, and Oscar Health Plan.
- Skyler Anderson and Ashley Huston are fee-for-service; Ascend provides itemized superbills for out-of-network reimbursement.
Ways to pay
- Licensed-clinician sessions (50 minutes individual, 60 minutes couples or family) with a named, licensed therapist.
- Supervised graduate-intern sessions for clients who want real, supervised, evidence-based care at a more accessible level.
- Psychological and psychoeducational testing quoted up front by evaluation type.
The full fee for whichever option fits is shared with you before you book, so there are no surprises. Therapy is also an eligible expense under most HSA and FSA plans.
How superbills actually work
A superbill is an itemized receipt with your diagnosis code, the procedure (CPT) code, the date of service, and what you paid. You submit it directly to your insurer for out-of-network reimbursement. It is not a guarantee of payment: only PPO and POS plans typically have out-of-network mental health benefits, HMO plans generally do not, and your specific plan determines the reimbursement percentage and whether you have an out-of-network deductible to meet first. Many PPO plans reimburse a portion of the session fee once that deductible is met; some reimburse less. Call the number on the back of your insurance card and ask, "What are my out-of-network outpatient mental health benefits?" before you book.
Verifying your out-of-network benefits before your first visit
- Call the member services number on the back of your insurance card, not the general customer service line.
- Ask specifically: "Do I have out-of-network outpatient mental health benefits, and what is my out-of-network deductible and reimbursement percentage?"
- Ask whether CPT codes 90791 (initial evaluation) and 90837 (individual psychotherapy, 60 minutes) are covered under that benefit.
- Book your first session and pay at time of service.
- Request your superbill from our office after the visit; we provide it promptly with your diagnosis and CPT codes included.
- Submit the superbill to your insurer through their out-of-network claims process, often a simple online upload.
This takes about ten minutes on the phone and removes almost all of the guesswork about what you will actually pay after reimbursement.
How we track whether therapy is actually working
We do not ask you to simply trust that things are improving. Depending on your presenting concern, your therapist may use brief, standardized symptom measures (such as anxiety or depression screening scales) at intake and periodically afterward, so both of you have an objective marker of change alongside how you subjectively feel. If those measures and your own sense of progress are not moving after a reasonable number of sessions, that is the trigger for the conversation about adjusting the approach, switching clinicians, or referring out.
How Ascend compares to your other options
The tradeoffs are real, and we would rather you know them before you call.
| Option | Pricing approach | Named local provider | In-person option |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ascend Mind and Body, Lakeland | Shared up front, licensed and supervised-intern options | Named clinicians and interns | South Florida Avenue office |
| Psychology Today / GoodTherapy directory | Varies by listing, often not disclosed | Depends who you contact | Depends who you contact |
| National telehealth-only apps | Subscription-based, therapist assigned | Matched algorithmically | Video only |
| Solo private-practice therapist | One clinician, one price point | One clinician only | Usually yes |
A solo practice may give more continuity with one person, but no ability to switch specialties in-house if the fit or the presenting problem changes. A directory or app can be faster to browse but gives you no visibility into wait times until you have already reached out.
A supervised graduate-intern session is not a discount version of real therapy; it is the same structured, evidence-based approach delivered by a clinician further along in licensure but still under active, ongoing supervision. The lower cost reflects licensure stage, not a lower standard of care.
Illustrative
Image illustrative. Our office is on the second floor on South Florida Avenue in downtown Lakeland, near Munn Park.
Our Lakeland clinic, and who we see
We are on South Florida Avenue near Munn Park in downtown Lakeland, open Monday through Friday, and we regularly see clients driving in from across Polk County.
Ascend Mind and Body, Lakeland
832 South Florida Avenue, Suite 1, Floor 2
Lakeland, FL 33801
Phone: (863) 510-2624
Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Second floor, between Memorial Boulevard and Lime Street. Street parking is available plus a lot behind the building. From I-4, take the Memorial Boulevard exit and head south. Get directions.
Drive times from around Polk County
| From | Approximate drive time |
|---|---|
| Winter Haven | 20 to 25 minutes via US-92 |
| Auburndale | 15 to 20 minutes via US-92 |
| Bartow | 20 to 25 minutes via US-98 |
| Plant City | 25 to 30 minutes via I-4 |
| Haines City | 25 to 30 minutes via US-17/92 |
| Mulberry | 15 to 20 minutes via FL-37 |
We serve clients from Lakeland, Winter Haven, Auburndale, Bartow, Plant City, Haines City, Mulberry, and surrounding Polk County. Polk County has grown quickly, and mental health access has not always kept pace; several established local practices have long waitlists, and telehealth-only options do not cover in-person testing or in-office EMDR work. A multi-clinician office in downtown Lakeland, with both in-person and telehealth options under one roof, is a direct response to that gap.
Lakeland is one of three in-person Ascend locations in the Tampa Bay and Central Florida area, alongside Tampa/Carrollwood and Wesley Chapel, plus statewide Florida telehealth for psychiatry and talk therapy. The practice covers four service lines: primary care, psychiatry, ketamine therapy, and talk therapy, which is why a Lakeland therapy client who also needs a physical, a medication evaluation, or ketamine therapy can be referred within the same organization rather than starting over elsewhere.
Related Lakeland care: couples therapy in Lakeland and telehealth psychiatry for Lakeland when medication support is indicated alongside therapy.
The honest version: what therapy can and cannot do
Therapy helps most people who stick with it, but it is not fast, it is not guaranteed, and it works best when you are honest with your therapist and willing to do something differently between sessions, not just talk about it.
We are not going to tell you therapy fixes everything, that EMDR will definitely resolve your trauma in six sessions, or that any specific modality works the same way for every person. Research summarized by the National Institute of Mental Health shows psychotherapy helps the majority of people who engage with it consistently, but "helps most people" is not the same as "guarantees a specific outcome for you." Individual responses vary by condition, history, and how consistently you attend and engage.
What we can tell you: fit between client and therapist is one of the most consistently identified predictors of whether therapy works, which is exactly why we built a multi-clinician team instead of a single generalist. Structured, evidence-based approaches like CBT and ERP tend to outperform unstructured sessions for specific, diagnosable conditions. And therapy that only happens in the room, with nothing practiced between sessions, tends to move slower than therapy paired with actual behavior change at home.
When to consider changing therapists or approaches
- After 6 to 8 sessions of genuinely engaging, you notice no shift at all in the specific problem you came in for.
- You find yourself dreading sessions in a way that feels like avoidance of the work, not just normal discomfort with a hard topic.
- Your therapist seems to use the same general approach regardless of what you bring in, rather than adjusting to your presentation.
- You feel unable to be honest with your therapist about how sessions are actually going for you.
None of these mean therapy in general has failed; they usually mean the current fit or approach has, and switching to a different clinician on the Lakeland team, or a different modality, is a normal part of the process, not a last resort.
For a deeper look at any single condition treated at Lakeland, see: anxiety, depression, PTSD, OCD, adult ADHD, grief and loss, and life transitions.
FAQs about therapy in Lakeland
Still deciding? These are the questions Lakeland clients ask most before they call.
Does Ascend Mind and Body offer talk therapy in Lakeland?
Yes. Our Lakeland office on South Florida Avenue houses a talk-therapy team delivering CBT, DBT, EMDR, IFS, and ERP. In-person and Florida telehealth sessions are both available, and most new clients are scheduled within one week.
How do I choose between therapists?
Start with what matters most: specialty (trauma? OCD? ADHD? neurodivergence?), approach (structured skill-building versus open-ended processing), or identity (affirming, faith-integrated). Call (863) 510-2624 and we will help you narrow it down. You can switch therapists at any point if the fit isn't right.
Do any Lakeland therapists take insurance?
Kaylee Mills Brenneman, LMHC is in-network with UnitedHealthcare; supervised graduate-intern sessions are self-pay. Coverage varies by plan - see /insurance/. Skyler Anderson and Ashley Huston are fee-for-service, but we issue itemized superbills for out-of-network reimbursement through PPO plans. Call the number on your insurance card and ask about your out-of-network outpatient mental health benefits before booking.
How much does talk therapy cost in Lakeland?
Licensed-clinician and supervised graduate-intern sessions are both available, and the full fee is shared with you up front. Individual sessions run 50 minutes and couples or family sessions run 60 minutes. Insurance-covered rates depend on your plan, and we issue superbills for out-of-network reimbursement.
What is the difference between a licensed therapist and a supervised intern?
A licensed therapist has completed graduate training, supervised post-graduate hours, and a state licensing exam. An intern is a pre-licensure clinician practicing under the direct supervision of a licensed clinical supervisor. Both provide real, structured therapy; the difference is licensure stage, not quality of care.
What therapy approach is best for anxiety?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has the strongest research base for generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and panic disorder. For panic disorder with avoidance, exposure-based CBT typically works faster than talk-only approaches.
What is EMDR and does it actually work for trauma?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is an eight-phase trauma therapy using bilateral stimulation while recalling a distressing memory. It's recommended as a first-line PTSD treatment by the World Health Organization, the American Psychological Association, and the VA/DoD. Individual responses vary, and it is not effective for every person or every presentation.
Do you treat OCD in Lakeland?
Yes, using Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), which the International OCD Foundation identifies as the first-line psychotherapy for OCD with the strongest evidence base. Ask at intake to confirm ERP-specific matching.
How long does therapy take to work?
It depends on the condition and modality. Structured CBT for a single, well-defined anxiety concern often runs 12 to 20 sessions. EMDR for a single trauma memory can show change faster; complex trauma takes longer. Ongoing depression or personality-level work is often open-ended. We won't promise a timeline before a real assessment.
Can I switch therapists if the fit isn't right?
Yes, at any point, at no penalty. Fit between client and therapist is one of the strongest predictors of whether therapy actually helps, which is the reason we built a multi-clinician team instead of a single-therapist practice.
Is online therapy as effective as in-person therapy?
For most anxiety, depression, and adjustment-related concerns, the American Psychological Association's telehealth guidance shows outcomes comparable between video and in-person sessions. Psychological testing and some trauma protocols still require in-office visits.
What if cost is a barrier to starting therapy?
Ask about supervised graduate-intern sessions, or about superbills for out-of-network insurance reimbursement, which can return a portion of the fee depending on your PPO plan. Therapy is also HSA/FSA eligible for most plans.
Do you offer psychological testing in Lakeland?
Ascend does not currently perform psychological testing on site. We help you determine whether testing is the right next step and coordinate arranging it, including ADHD evaluations, autism assessments, learning disability testing, and comprehensive psychological evaluations, quoted up front by evaluation type.
Do you offer couples or family therapy in Lakeland?
Yes. See our dedicated couples therapy in Lakeland page for provider-specific detail.
What should I expect at my first therapy appointment?
Intake paperwork first, then about 50 minutes with your therapist discussing what brought you in and what you want out of therapy. No polished explanation is required; "I feel stuck" is a completely normal starting point. You'll typically schedule your next visit before you leave.
Can I do therapy via telehealth from Lakeland?
Yes. Our Lakeland clinicians offer Florida telehealth for clients who prefer video or live outside easy driving distance. Telehealth therapy has research-supported outcomes comparable to in-person for most presentations.
Does Ascend see clients from outside Lakeland, like Winter Haven or Plant City?
Yes. Our Lakeland office regularly sees clients from Winter Haven, Auburndale, Bartow, Plant City, Haines City, Mulberry, and the rest of Polk County, either in person or by Florida telehealth.
Will my employer or family find out I'm in therapy?
No. Therapy content is protected under HIPAA and Florida confidentiality law, with the standard legally required exceptions for imminent danger to yourself or someone else, or suspected abuse of a child or vulnerable adult. Those exceptions will be explained clearly at your first visit.
What is the difference between CBT, DBT, and EMDR, and how do I know which one I need?
CBT works best for structured, thought-pattern-driven problems like anxiety and depression. DBT-informed skills work best when emotions feel too intense to regulate. EMDR works best for a specific traumatic memory that still feels unprocessed. You do not need to diagnose yourself; intake matching identifies the right starting modality based on what you describe.
Can therapy help with work stress or burnout even if it's not a diagnosed condition?
Yes. Not every reason to start therapy is a diagnosable disorder. Chronic work stress, burnout, and major life transitions are common, valid reasons Lakeland adults start therapy, and CBT-based structured problem-solving applies just as well to these presentations as to a formal diagnosis.
Do you treat postpartum or perinatal anxiety and depression?
Yes, for adult clients experiencing anxiety or depression during pregnancy or after giving birth, treated through CBT and, where indicated, coordinated psychiatric medication management through our telehealth psychiatry service.
Can I talk to someone before booking a full session, to see if it's a fit?
Call (863) 510-2624 with questions about modality or which clinician sounds like the right fit before you book. That conversation does not commit you to anything; the first billed appointment is the initial session itself.
What do I need for a telehealth therapy session?
A reliable internet connection, a device with a camera and microphone, and a private space where you will not be interrupted. Sessions run on a HIPAA-compliant video platform, and Florida law requires you to be physically located in Florida at the time of the session.
Do you offer group therapy in Lakeland?
Not at this time. Lakeland currently offers individual, couples, and family therapy. If group therapy is specifically what you are looking for, call our office and we can point you toward community resources.
Still have a question? Talk it through with our team.
(863) 510-2624Sources
- American Psychological Association, Clinical Practice Guideline for PTSD: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- American Psychological Association, Guidelines for the Practice of Telepsychology
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs / Department of Defense, Clinical Practice Guideline for PTSD
- World Health Organization, mhGAP Intervention Guide
- International OCD Foundation, Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
- National Institute of Mental Health, Anxiety Disorders
- National Institute of Mental Health, Depression
- National Institute of Mental Health, Mental Illness Statistics
This page is educational and does not replace an individualized clinical evaluation. Ketamine is a Schedule III controlled substance used off-label for treatment-resistant depression and select indications under the supervision of a licensed prescriber; individual responses vary and outcomes are not guaranteed.
Start with a conversation, not a commitment
Tell us what is going on and we will match you to the right therapist on the Lakeland team. Most new clients are scheduled within one week, in person on South Florida Avenue or by Florida telehealth statewide.
In crisis right now? Call or text 988 anytime. Therapy is not an emergency service.