Practitioner record · Checked 9 Oct 2026

Karina Fernandez has been in practice 16 years and is licensed in Tennessee. Karina lists stress, Anxiety, trauma and abuse and grief among 45 subjects on the BetterHelp roster.

Everything below is either quoted from Karina's own BetterHelp listing, taken from public licensing records, or written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such. Nothing here is an availability promise, a review, or a rating.

16years in practice
45subjects listed
7approaches listed
2languages spoken

01 · Who Karina works with

Karina works with stress, Anxiety, trauma and abuse and grief

Karina lists 12 specialisms and 33 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Karina chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

Specialisms
  • Stress, Anxiety
  • Trauma and abuse
  • Grief
  • Self esteem
  • Depression
  • Addictions
  • Relationship issues
  • Family conflicts
  • Sleeping disorders
  • Parenting issues
  • Coping with life changes
  • Compassion fatigue
Also experienced with
  • Abandonment
  • Aging and geriatric issues
  • Blended family issues
  • Caregiver issues and stress
  • Codependency
  • Communication problems
  • Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
  • Dependent personality
  • Domestic violence
  • Emptiness
  • Family of origin issues
  • Family problems
  • First responder issues
  • Forgiveness
  • Guilt and shame
  • Hospice and end-of-life counseling
  • Immigration issues
  • Impulsivity
  • Isolation / loneliness
  • Life purpose
  • Midlife crisis
  • Mood disorders
  • Multicultural concerns
  • Panic disorder and panic attacks
  • Paranoia
  • Post-traumatic stress
  • Prejudice and discrimination
  • Self-love
  • Sexual assault and abuse
  • Social anxiety and phobia
  • Women's issues
  • Workplace issues
  • Young adult issues

02 · In Karina's own words

What Karina says about the work

Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.

Hello, and thank you for visiting my page. I've worked in the field of mental health for over 15 years. I graduated with my Masters in Social Worker at Loma Linda University in San Bernardino California. My passion has always been to help others overcome challenging obstacles that we may face in our lives. I have worked in various settings that are geared towards helping individuals with mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, PTSD and other mental health concerns. Additionally, I have experience working with survivors of violent crimes which include sexual assault victims, robbery/assault, domestic violence, homicide survivors. I also have comprehensive expertise with complex grief and loss. I utilize cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, and mindfulness. I am EMDR certified to aid in complex traumas, client centered approaches that are customized to fit your individual needs, and I also utilize the empowerment model which helps identify those strengths that you've had all long. I am just a guide to help you uncover all your greatest potential. You are the gem you've been looking for, now it's time to find your healing.

Karina Fernandez, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Karina works

The 7 approaches Karina lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Karina lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Karina's - a general explanation of what each method is, so the list means something before you have spoken to anybody. They are not a claim about how Karina runs a session.

Client-Centred TherapyPerson-centred · Rogerian
The therapist does not steer toward a technique or a diagnosis. They offer sustained, non-judgemental attention and reflect back what they hear, on the premise that people find their own direction when they are genuinely listened to. Often what people mean by “someone who just gets it”.
Cognitive Behavioural TherapyCBT
Structured, present-focused work on the loop between what you think, how you feel and what you then do. Usually means noticing a thought pattern in the room, testing it against evidence, and practising something different between sessions. Among the most heavily researched talking therapies for depression and anxiety.
Dialectical Behaviour TherapyDBT
A structured skills-led adaptation of CBT built around holding two things at once: accepting yourself as you are and working to change. Teaches concrete skills for distress tolerance, emotion regulation and relationships. Developed for people whose feelings arrive at overwhelming intensity, and strongest-evidenced there.
Eye Movement Desensitisation and ReprocessingEMDR
A structured trauma protocol in which you hold a distressing memory in mind while following a repeated side-to-side cue. The mechanism is still debated; the outcome data in post-traumatic stress is strong enough that it appears in national treatment guidelines.
Mindfulness-Based TherapyMBCT
Trains attention on what is happening right now - body, breath, the thought as it arrives - so distress can be observed rather than automatically acted on. Strongest evidence is in preventing depression from recurring, and it is usually taught as a practice you keep doing outside the session.
Solution-Focused Brief TherapySFBT
Starts from where you want to end up rather than from how you got here. Sessions look for the times the problem is already smaller and work out what is different about those, so the number of sessions tends to be short and the work concrete.
Trauma-Focused TherapyTF-CBT · trauma-informed
CBT adapted for people whose difficulty is rooted in a frightening or overwhelming event. Pacing is the point: safety and stabilisation come first, the memory itself is approached gradually and only when you are ready, and the aim is that recalling it stops hijacking the present.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Karina practises through BetterHelp, so the route in is BetterHelp's. This is that sequence, written by Maker Therapy from the platform's published process - not a description of Karina's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.

  1. A questionnaire, not a booking form

    BetterHelp opens with a set of questions about what you are dealing with, what you want from therapy, and any preferences on the therapist. You are not booking Karina at this point.

  2. Naming Karina specifically

    BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Karina is a step you have to take. There is a field for requesting a specific therapist during sign-up, and you can switch afterwards from your account. Starting from a link on this page does not by itself assign you to Karina.

  3. If the caseload is full

    You will be offered somebody else rather than put on a waitlist. Worth knowing, because it is easy to assume a match is the person you asked for.

  4. The first conversation

    A first session is typically history and orientation: what brought you, what has been tried, what you want to be different. It is also where the questions in the next section belong.

  5. If the fit is wrong

    Changing therapist on BetterHelp does not need a reason. A first session that does not click is common and is not a verdict on therapy. That option existing is the main practical difference between a platform and a private practice.

05 · Before you commit

4 questions worth asking Karina

Built from what Karina actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Karina's - Karina has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.

  • “You list both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Client-Centred Therapy. Which do you lean on with someone like me?”

    Those two point in different directions - one structured and led by the therapist, the other led by you. The answer tells you what the sessions will actually feel like.

  • “How do you decide when someone is ready to work on a traumatic memory itself?”

    Pacing is the biggest safety question in trauma work. A clear, unhurried answer here matters more than any credential.

  • “With 16 years in, what has changed most in how you work?”

    Long experience is only an advantage if it has been examined. This tends to surface whether it has.

  • “How do you handle the gap between sessions if something comes up?”

    On BetterHelp this varies a great deal by therapist. Better to know the rhythm now than to discover it on a bad week.

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential
LCSW
Licensed in
Tennessee
Licence
TN LCSW 6768
Licence number
6768
Licence expires
30 Nov 2027
NPI
1790966182
Years in practice
16
Gender
Female
Languages
English, Spanish
International clients
Not accepted
Listed since
15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Karina's name, credential, state, subjects, approaches and biography are read from BetterHelp's therapist roster, which Maker Therapy re-reads once a day; this page reflects the reading taken on 9 Oct 2026. The licence number and NPI are cross-checked against public registers.

The plain-English method descriptions, the first-session walkthrough and the questions are written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such wherever they appear.

Maker Therapy is not BetterHelp, does not take bookings, and has not met Karina. There are no reviews or ratings on this page because we have no way to verify one. If you start therapy through a link here, we may be paid a commission - it does not change your price and it does not affect who appears here or in what order.

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