Tolana Murphy, LPC, LCPC

Tolana Murphy is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Arizona and a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LCPC) with ten years of experience. She draws on work across community mental health, inpatient detox, and intensive outpatient settings. She has supported many people through depression, anxiety, trauma, grief, addiction, and other tough life moments.

She uses a practical, person-focused style. Sessions aim to understand what matters to the client and to build manageable steps forward. Tolana combines talking, skills practice, and grounding strategies to reduce worry and improve day-to-day functioning.

Her background includes work with adults who experienced severe mental illness and with people going through their first psychotic break. She has also provided medication-assisted treatment and led group and individual programs. This experience shaped her ability to work with complex, layered concerns.

Common issues she addresses include stress, relationship and intimacy-related problems, parenting strain, sleep and eating concerns, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and grief. She also lists an additional focus on aging and geriatric issues, hoarding, postpartum depression, post-traumatic stress, social anxiety, and women’s issues.

Tolana trained in psychology at the University of Toledo and earned a Master of Arts in Counseling from Spring Arbor University. She blends evidence-based methods such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with client-centered listening to help people set and meet their goals.

Therapeutic approaches and how they translate to online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) encourages people to clarify their values and take small, committed actions toward them. It is useful for anxiety, stress, and life transitions because it focuses on what matters rather than only reducing symptoms. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps identify unhelpful thoughts and patterns, then practices alternative ways of thinking and behaving to improve mood and daily functioning. This approach often suits depression, anxiety, and sleep or eating concerns. Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) emphasizes understanding emotions in close relationships and strengthening emotional connection, which can help with intimacy-related struggles and relationship stress.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Tolana will work with each person to choose or combine methods based on goals, preferences, and the problem at hand. She adapts techniques over time so sessions stay practical and relevant to everyday life.

Practical benefits of online therapy include easier scheduling and the ability to fit sessions into a busy day. Online work can make brief check-ins easier and reduce travel time, which helps maintain consistency. Because specific session formats are not listed here, confirm the current online options before booking so you know whether phone or video is offered. Licensed professionals can use online methods to teach coping skills, guide exposure work, and process trauma with approaches like CBT or EMDR when appropriate.