Dr. Kristi Hottenstein, LPC, LPCC

Dr. Kristi Hottenstein is a licensed professional counselor with two decades of experience. She has practiced in Michigan since 2009 and holds a doctorate in higher education administration, a master’s in Counseling, and a bachelor’s in Sociology. She runs Compass Counseling & Coaching, PLLC and has served on the Michigan Mental Health Counselors Association board. Dr. Hottenstein offers counseling for individuals, couples, and teens, and also provides college selection coaching.

Her approach is holistic and personal. She treats each client as an individual and adapts methods to fit the person rather than forcing a single style. In sessions she encourages self-awareness and helps people accept responsibility for the changes they want to make. Conversations are practical and focused on skills people can use between appointments.

She draws on several evidence-based methods, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, and Existential Therapy. These approaches inform how she helps with anxiety, stress, relationship and intimacy issues, trauma and abuse concerns, grief, addiction, and other life challenges.

Dr. Hottenstein also works with concerns such as parenting strain, caregiving stress, body image, ADHD, and coping with chronic illness. She aims to help people build clearer goals, better communication, and stronger day-to-day coping. Sessions emphasize manageable steps and steady progress.

If you want to explore options, she guides goal-setting and practical next steps. People who prefer a collaborative, individualized process may find this style helpful.

How therapeutic approaches shape online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, helps people clarify values and take small actions toward them. It focuses on accepting difficult feelings while still moving toward meaningful life changes, which can help with anxiety, depression, and trauma-related distress.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors interact. It uses practical strategies and experiments to change unhelpful patterns, and is often chosen for stress, anxiety, sleep, and mood concerns.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will review goals, preferences, and life demands and then collaboratively try methods that match those needs. If something does not fit, adjustments are made so sessions feel useful and relevant.

Confirm which online session options are available before booking, as the biography does not list specific formats. Online therapy can make it easier to fit appointments into a busy week, reduce commute time, and allow shorter check-ins when a full session is not needed. It also lets people work with licensed professionals from their own region while focusing on concrete coping skills and goal-oriented plans.