I started Inner Journey Counseling and Consulting because I believe therapy should be honest, direct, and actually useful — not a space where you spend fifty minutes being asked how that makes you feel.

 

I work with adults who are exhausted. High-functioning, capable people who have spent years showing up for everyone else — carrying more than their share, saying yes when they mean no, holding it all together while quietly running on empty. They don't need someone to tell them what they already know. They need a space to untangle the patterns that keep them stuck and build something more sustainable.

 

My approach is compassionate but direct. I adapt to what each client actually needs — session by session, without a rigid formula. I ask hard questions. I'll point out what I'm observing. And I'll be honest with you even when it's uncomfortable, because that's what actually moves the needle.

 

Before becoming a therapist I spent fifteen years in the corporate world. That background matters. I understand burnout from the inside. I understand what it costs to tie your identity to your productivity, your relationships, or what other people need from you. When my clients talk about feeling trapped, overlooked, or exhausted by the weight of over-responsibility — I don't just understand it clinically. I get it.

 

I specialize in working with adults navigating burnout, anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, and the patterns that come from growing up in environments where your needs came last. I am also a certified Brainspotting practitioner, which allows me to work with clients at a deeper level when talk therapy alone isn't enough.

 

I'm not a blank-slate therapist. I show up as a real person — direct, warm, and genuinely invested in the work. My clients aren't cases. They're people who deserve more than generic advice and a listening ear.

 

Lisa Starnes, MEd, LPC, Licensed Professional Counselor · Certified Brainspotting Practitioner, Winthrop University, Masters of Education in Clinical Mental Health, In-person in Fort Mill, SC · Telehealth available throughout South Carolina