Kristi Rakes, LCSW, LISW-CP

Kristi Rakes is a licensed social worker based in North Carolina with 13 years of experience helping people navigate stress, anxiety, grief, and major life changes. She approaches care with compassion, empathy, and a nonjudgmental stance, emphasizing a holistic, strength-based view that looks for practical ways to support wellbeing and resilience.

She holds an LCSW, which is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and an LISW-CP, which is a Licensed Independent Social Worker with a clinical practice endorsement. Her background includes extensive training in mental health diagnosis and end-of-life care, and she works with a broad range of concerns including depression, trauma and abuse, relationship and family issues, addictions, parenting challenges, mood disorders, ADHD, and compassion fatigue. Her practice also addresses intimacy-related concerns, career and life-purpose questions, body image, caregiver stress, and postpartum depression.

Kristi integrates client-centered listening with evidence-informed methods such as cognitive behavioral techniques, mindfulness practices, motivational interviewing, and narrative approaches. She values the courage it takes to seek support and focuses on helping people identify strengths during vulnerable times, build self-esteem, and move toward more hopeful, workable futures.