Nastassja Hanna
Nastassja Hanna is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), National Certified Counselor (NCC), and founder of Lumen Counseling LLC. She earned her Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Lancaster Bible College | Capital Seminary & Graduate School and provides virtual therapy throughout Pennsylvania. Nastassja works with adolescents and adults navigating anxiety, OCD, trauma and PTSD, depression, emotional regulation difficulties, substance use concerns, relationship challenges, self-esteem and identity concerns, spiritual and religious issues, and life transitions. Her clinical background includes outpatient, college, substance use, and family-based mental health settings, providing experience working with individuals facing both complex and everyday challenges. Nastassja’s approach is thoughtful, analytical, compassionate, and practical. She believes effective therapy goes beyond simply talking about what is difficult. Therapy should help clients understand the thoughts, emotions, behaviors, relationships, and patterns that may be keeping them stuck while developing practical skills and new ways of responding. Treatment is individualized based on each client’s history, strengths, needs, and goals and may incorporate Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Positive Psychology, and attachment-based approaches.
My work is grounded in a values-oriented approach, helping clients align their actions with what truly matters to them in a practical and meaningful way.
By combining structured, evidence-based interventions with a flexible, collaborative, and client-centered approach, Nastassja seeks to address concerns with both compassion and precision. Her goal is not only to help clients experience symptom relief, but also to develop greater insight, build resilience, strengthen relationships, and make intentional, values-driven decisions that support meaningful and fulfilling lives. For clients who desire Christian counseling, Nastassja integrates a biblical Christian worldview with evidence-based psychological care.
First session
Your first session will take place virtually through Zoom and will primarily focus on completing a comprehensive intake and assessment. Nastassja will ask questions about your current concerns, symptoms, relevant history, relationships, previous treatment experiences, strengths, and goals to develop a clearer understanding of what is bringing you to therapy. You do not need to arrive knowing exactly how to explain everything or having clearly defined goals; part of the intake process is helping organize what you are experiencing and identifying the areas that may be most important to address. Because the first session focuses on assessment, it may feel somewhat different from future therapy sessions, with more information to gather and questions to answer. You are encouraged to ask questions and share concerns throughout the process. By the end of the session, Nastassja will have a stronger clinical picture of your needs, and together you can begin identifying treatment priorities and determining which approaches may be most helpful. Future sessions provide more time to explore concerns in greater depth, develop insight, learn and practice skills, and actively work toward your treatment goals.
Strengths
One of my greatest strengths as a therapist is my ability to listen closely while also looking beneath the surface. I naturally pay attention to patterns, inconsistencies, connections, and subtle details that may otherwise be easy to overlook. This allows me to help clients examine their experiences from different perspectives and identify factors that may be contributing to their concerns. I bring genuine curiosity and compassion to that process, but I am also comfortable asking thoughtful questions, respectfully challenging assumptions or unhelpful patterns, and offering direct feedback when I believe it can support growth. I want clients to feel genuinely heard and understood while also knowing that our work together has direction and purpose. I also bring a highly individualized approach to treatment. I do not assume that the same intervention, explanation, or strategy will work for every person. I consider the whole context of a client’s experience—their history, relationships, strengths, values, environment, goals, and current circumstances—and use clinical evidence to determine what may be most helpful. I value collaboration and welcome clients’ perspectives about what is and is not working in therapy. My role is not to make decisions for clients, but to help them think more clearly, develop effective skills, consider new perspectives, and become increasingly confident in navigating challenges and making intentional choices for themselves.
Ideal clients
Nastassja works especially well with adolescents and adults who want to better understand themselves and are open to taking an active role in the therapeutic process. Some come to therapy feeling overwhelmed, uncertain, or stuck in patterns they have struggled to change, while others are navigating significant transitions, relationships, or mental health concerns. She also particularly enjoys working with professionals in high-responsibility or high-pressure roles who may appear capable on the outside while privately managing anxiety, perfectionism, burnout, difficult decisions, relationship strain, or the weight of ongoing responsibility. Clients do not need to have everything figured out; what matters is a willingness to engage honestly, approach challenges with curiosity, and work collaboratively toward meaningful change. Her ideal client appreciates understanding the “why” behind what they are experiencing while also learning what they can do differently. Nastassja especially enjoys working with clients who are curious and engaged in the process—whether that means reflecting between sessions, reading or researching topics that interest them, practicing new skills, or becoming more intentional about applying what they discover in therapy to everyday life. She values clients who are willing to explore different perspectives and participate in therapy as a collaborative process rather than expecting a one-size-fits-all solution. Ultimately, her goal is for clients to become increasingly equipped to navigate life beyond the therapy room—with greater self-awareness, effective coping and relational skills, resilience, and confidence to make intentional, values-driven decisions that support the lives and relationships that matter most to them.
Treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
CBT helps clients understand the connections between their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and identify patterns that may be contributing to distress or keeping them stuck. Rather than simply replacing “negative” thoughts with positive ones, we examine whether thoughts are accurate, helpful, and supported by evidence while developing more adaptive ways of thinking and responding. Treatment may also include behavioral strategies, skill-building, and opportunities to practice new responses outside of sessions.
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
Through ACT, clients learn to develop greater psychological flexibility—the ability to experience difficult thoughts and emotions without allowing them to dictate every decision or behavior. Instead of making the elimination of discomfort the goal, our work focuses on changing the relationship with internal experiences, clarifying what matters most, and making intentional, values-driven choices even when discomfort or uncertainty is present.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
DBT provides practical skills for navigating intense emotions, tolerating distress, strengthening relationships, and responding more effectively during difficult situations. Depending on each client’s needs, therapy may incorporate emotion regulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and present-moment awareness. The goal is not to eliminate difficult emotions, but to understand them and develop greater confidence in responding to them effectively.
Exposure Response Prevention (ERP)
When treating OCD and related anxiety concerns, ERP focuses on breaking the cycle between fear, avoidance, and compulsive responses. Together, we identify patterns such as reassurance-seeking, checking, avoidance, or other compulsions and gradually practice facing feared thoughts, situations, sensations, or uncertainty without relying on those behaviors for relief. Over time, clients learn that they can tolerate discomfort and uncertainty while allowing OCD and anxiety to have less influence over their choices and daily lives.
Eclectic
No single therapeutic approach is appropriate for every person or every concern. Treatment is therefore individualized according to each client’s history, strengths, values, goals, current needs, and response to therapy. In addition to my primary approaches, I may thoughtfully incorporate elements of Cognitive Processing Therapy, Positive Psychology, attachment-based approaches, Behavioral Activation, Motivational Interviewing, Solution-Focused Therapy, and other evidence-supported interventions when clinically appropriate. This allows treatment to remain structured and evidence-informed while flexible enough to respond to the individual person.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
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Licensed in
- PennsylvaniaLicense PC014855