Alexandra Ainge Cottle, LCMHC, LPC

Alexandra Ainge Cottle is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) and Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) based in Utah. She helps people facing stress, anxiety, relationship and intimacy-related issues, grief, depression, and trauma. She also supports concerns around parenting, caregiving strain, body image, eating and sleeping difficulties, and career or life changes.

Her style is practical and down-to-earth. Sessions focus on clear goals and everyday skills. She blends talk and action so people can try new ways of coping between visits. Humor and straightforward feedback are part of how she works.

Alexandra brings 12 years of experience in community, school, and private settings. She started as a school counselor after earning a Master of Education in Educational Psychology from the University of Utah, where she emphasized cognitive behavioral and multicultural counseling. Over the years she has volunteered in shelters and community organizations and has run a private counseling practice.

Her approach is integrative. She draws from cognitive behavioral methods, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, attachment-based ideas, dialectical behavior techniques, and client-centered work. Treatment plans are tailored to each person’s needs and goals. She also offers coaching-style support when people want pragmatic steps toward change.

Outside of clinical work she has presented on parenting, self-esteem, grief, anger management, and related topics. She describes her own life as shaped by loss and recovery, and she uses that experience to stay grounded and empathetic in sessions.

How therapy approaches translate to online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings and then choose actions that fit their values. It is often useful for anxiety, depression, and coping with life changes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, focuses on spotting unhelpful thinking patterns and testing new behaviors to change mood and routines. It is commonly used for anxiety, sleep or eating concerns, and stress management.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. The therapist will talk with the client about goals and preferences and then recommend techniques to try. That decision is collaborative and can shift as progress is made.

Confirm the available session formats before booking because the biography does not list specific options. Online work can still make it easier to fit counseling into a busy life - it can reduce travel time, let someone schedule a shorter mid-day check-in, or make it simpler to work on skills between sessions. Licensed professionals can adapt CBT and ACT exercises for remote sessions, use guided practice in real time, and set concrete homework to try between meetings. Discussing practical needs and scheduling during the first appointment helps match therapy style to everyday life.