Licensed Professional Counselor
Pronouns: She/Her

Kayla Nowak is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a Master of Science in Clinical Psychology from the University of Alaska Anchorage, earned in 2022, and a post-master’s specialization in Childhood and Adolescent Mental Health from Grand Canyon University, completed in 2024. Since 2019, she has been providing mental health services in various mental health settings such as in inpatient psychiatric and residential treatment settings. She has experience supporting adolescents and adults through individual, group, family and recreational therapy. 

With specialized post-master’s training in childhood and adolescent mental health, Kayla brings a developmental lens to her work, attending to how early experiences shape personality and cognition—even when these experiences are not the central focus of therapy. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Anthropology, and she approaches therapy with cultural humility and responsiveness. She believes honoring each person’s lived experience and cultural background is essential to understanding their story and promoting healing.

Kayla is collaborative, warm, and person-centered, aiming to meet clients where they are while fostering insight, resilience, and meaningful growth. She works with people aged twelve and older who are navigating life transitions, exploring their identities, and clarifying their personal values. She is especially passionate about developing a safe space for clients to improve personal insight, better understand themselves, strengthen coping skills, and build more meaningful relationships. Kayla is trained in Brainspotting and believes in the opportunity to work towards healing through somatic and sensorimotor interventions that can help people feel more empowered and self-regulated.

Kayla is currently in the process of becoming Certified as an Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinical Specialist. She values how further education can increase her ability to support neurodiverse individuals and their families. Kayla takes pride in offering therapeutic care that is individualized to support her client’s unique strengths, preferences, needs and goals. 

Kayla’s work is grounded in evidence-based practices such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Solution-Focused Therapy. She has training in Trauma-Focused CBT and will work with parents of her minor clients, as appropriate, to learn skills that support their child’s healing at home. Kayla has training in several therapeutic models that encourage parent participation to enhance the child’s safety and support within the family, offering trauma-informed perspectives on perceived defiance, and identifying subtle forms of emotional dysregulation.

Kayla is a lifelong Alaskan who enjoys spending time with her husband and dogs, practicing yoga, and exploring the Alaskan wilderness through running, biking, skiing, and backpacking.