Kelli Means

Kelli Means is a licensed professional counselor who centers Trauma-Focused Therapy alongside client-centered care. She uses straightforward talk and practical strategies to help people handle stress, anxiety, addiction, grief, and trauma. Kelli prefers a direct but warm style and focuses on building trust before working on change.

Kelli holds a Master of Science in Community Mental Health Counseling from Wayne State College and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Nebraska Wesleyan University. She is licensed as an LPC in South Dakota and as an LIMHP in Nebraska. She has nine years of clinical experience in mental health and addictions settings.

Her background includes inpatient psychiatric work, school-based therapy, outpatient counseling, and residential drug and alcohol treatment. Much of her recent work has been with nonprofit programs that use state funding and sliding fee scales. She has worked with adults across a wide range of concerns, including mood disorders, trauma and dissociation, substance use, and relationship challenges.

Kelli’s sessions are conversational and practical. She blends Trauma-Focused Therapy with client-centered listening, mindfulness tools, motivational interviewing, somatic awareness, and solution-focused steps. She aims to teach coping skills and help clients practice being more assertive about their needs.

She believes clients are people first, not just diagnoses. Kelli’s role is to understand who someone is, build a trusting relationship, and act as a guide while the client leads change.

How trauma-informed and client-centered care work online

Trauma-Focused Therapy focuses on helping people process and make sense of traumatic events. It often involves pacing, grounding, and skills to manage strong feelings so daily life gets easier. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes listening and understanding the person’s experience without judgment, helping people feel heard and respected. Mindfulness Therapy teaches simple attention and breathing practices to reduce reactivity and build present-moment coping.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will talk with the client about goals, preferences, and what feels most helpful. Together they will adjust methods over time, trying different tools and slowing down when needed so the approach fits the person.

The biography does not list specific online session formats, so confirm available options before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, shorten travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when that suits someone’s schedule. They can also let someone use therapies like mindfulness exercises or somatic grounding from wherever they are, making regular practice more convenient for everyday life.