Attachment and relationship patterns | Anxiety and overthinking | Boundaries and people pleasing | Holistic mental health
Courtney Strull, MS, LPC
Understanding where you’ve been to change where you’re going.
You know the pattern before it finishes. The apology leaves your mouth before the other person is done talking. The task you meant to start Monday is still waiting on Thursday. Years ago you promised yourself you would never handle conflict the way your parents did, and last week you heard their exact words come out of you.
I work with adults in their 20s and 30s in Plano who are capable, busy, and often quietly overwhelmed. They want to understand why the same patterns keep showing up in their relationships, their work, and the way they treat themselves. I believe meaningful change begins with understanding ourselves, and it keeps going well past awareness.
Where do our patterns come from?
Long before we had language for relationships, we were learning what they looked like. We watched how our caregivers communicated, handled conflict, showed affection, responded to stress, and managed their own emotions. We also learned from what happened to us: whether our needs were met, how love was expressed, what felt safe, and which parts of ourselves we learned to protect.
Over time, those experiences become a blueprint. They can shape how you communicate, handle discomfort, experience closeness, respond to conflict, approach responsibilities, and even speak to yourself. Many of these patterns once served a purpose. They helped you adapt, navigate relationships, or protect yourself from pain, and some of them no longer fit the life you want to lead.
One of the most meaningful parts of my work is helping clients connect those dots. Why do I respond this way in certain situations? Why do I keep ending up in the same relationship dynamics? Why is it so hard to follow through on the things that matter to me? I believe those questions deserve thoughtful exploration, and you deserve curiosity in place of criticism while we explore them.
How I Work
My approach is attachment informed and grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy. For some clients, our work centers on attachment, relationship dynamics, emotional regulation, boundaries, and the influence of early relationships. For others, we focus on procrastination, avoidance, low motivation, perfectionism, or trouble staying consistent. Often these are connected, so we look at how your experiences, beliefs, emotions, and everyday behaviors feed one another.
Awareness is an essential starting point, and growth also asks you to practice something new. I want our work to reach beyond our sessions and into the way you actually live. That means honest reflection, a closer look at familiar patterns, and trying new responses even when they feel uncomfortable.
I also look at the whole person. Your emotional health is tied to how you sleep, move, eat, handle stress, and move through your daily routines. Together, we notice where those rhythms are supporting you and where they may be working against you.
Therapy with me is reflective and active. There is room for compassion, humor, curiosity, accountability, and uncomfortable truths. I believe self acceptance and accountability can coexist: we can extend compassion to the parts of you that learned to adapt while building healthier ways of thinking, behaving, and relating to others. Growth rarely happens in a straight line, and I don’t expect it to.
I have also sat on the other side of the room as a client, and that experience shapes how I show up for the people I work with.
You cannot change where your story began, and you can have a meaningful role in how it continues.
I especially enjoy working with adults in their 20s and 30s who are curious about themselves and willing to take an active role in their growth. You may look like you have everything together while privately struggling with anxiety, overthinking, self criticism, or relationship difficulties. You may be recognizing pieces of your upbringing in your adult relationships. You may have spent years managing responsibilities and caring for others without asking much about what you need. Or you know exactly what you want to change and feel frustrated by the distance between your intentions and your actions.
You can come in without everything figured out. What helps most is a willingness to look inward, consider new perspectives, and practice doing things differently. My role is to help you understand yourself with more compassion while encouraging you to take meaningful responsibility for the changes you want to make.
Our past shapes us, and understanding its influence lets us make more intentional choices about what comes next. My hope is that our work helps you move from shame and self judgment toward understanding, acceptance, and personal responsibility. Along the way, you can learn to live with more awareness and intention as the person you already are.
Who do I work best with?
I received my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology (with a minor in Sociology) from The University of Texas at Austin. While there, I assisted with research on gender and racial attitudes in children under Dr. Rebecca Bigler. I then earned my Master of Science in Counseling from Southern Methodist University, where I focused on adolescent psychology, trauma, parenting education, and play therapy.
I completed my practicum at the SMU Center for Family Counseling, working with clients presenting with depression, anxiety, and oppositional defiant disorder. I also led counseling groups during my internship with adult males on the Autism Spectrum through NonPareil and with high school girls at Prosper ISD through the Inspire program. In addition, I provided drop-in counseling at the University of North Texas’ Denton Wesley Foundation.
I continued developing my clinical expertise by facilitating groups at the Eating Recovery Center in Dallas and by working closely with children and families in both therapeutic and real-life roles - including years of experience nannying while completing my studies.
Today, I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Texas and proud to be part of a practice that values authenticity, growth, and connection.
A Final Thought
What I hope for you is simple. I want to hear your story, help you find your way back to the parts of yourself that got set aside somewhere along the way, and stay alongside you as life keeps changing. You do not have to arrive with everything sorted out. You only have to be willing to begin.
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Professional Endorsements
Courtney Strull, MS, LPC
"Courtney exemplifies integrity, grit, and humility as an extension of her therapeutic approach. Not only does she have a firm approach in planning, and implementing services to provide to a patient in need, but she is also compassionate, and empathetic. With Courtney, proper patient care is a fundamental she expands on and it is a direct reflection of her hard work in the Mental Health Field."
Daphene Woods, MSW Lead Behavioral Health Counselor/Trainer Eating Recovery Center Dallas, Texas
“We all know it's tough to motivate ourselves toward change. Luckily, Courtney's energy is contagious. Her motivation combined with her gentle warmth and courageous honesty makes her uniquely effective.”
Brandy Schumann, Ph.D., Clinical Associate Professor, Dispute Resolution and Counseling, Southern Methodist University
“I have had the pleasure of working with Courtney Strull in a clinical setting as a colleague. Courtney is an excellent therapist who is passionate about her job. She shows empathy and kindness to everyone she encounters. Courtney is dedicated to her clients and shows a genuine passion for helping them reach their full potential.”
Kaitlin Sutherlin, MS, LPC-A, NCC, Therapist at Corbella Counseling
“There are those who think about doing, and then there are those who do. Courtney Strull is the kind of counselor who will help you ‘do.’ Compassionate, intelligent, warm, and action-oriented, she embraces life and assists her clients in doing the same. In Courtney's approach to living, mountains are made for climbing, and she possesses those personal qualities and attributes to help her clients find their way to the top as well.”
Hal Barkley, Ph.D., LMFT-S, LPC-S, Counseling Program Director and Department Chair, SMU
“Courtney is a warm and compassionate person and counselor. She meets clients where they are and walks through their therapy journey with them. Her authentic nature provides a welcoming environment for clients to share their innermost feelings and thoughts.”
Maegan Pollack, LCSW, Owner at New Hope Counseling & Wellness PLLC
“Courtney displays authenticity and genuine compassion for others in all that she does, and particularly for her clients in the development of the therapeutic relationship. She is warm, honest, knowledgeable and adaptable in her approach to the ever-changing needs of each individual as they progress in therapy. Courtney consistently provides servant-hearted leadership to others and is committed to always going the extra mile. No matter the challenges that a client may face, Courtney is steadfast in standing by their side as they navigate the many facets and complexities of the human experience.”
Laura Sokatch, M.S., Owner of Elis Legal Recruiting, LLC
“I have seen firsthand Courtney's passion for helping her clients overcome areas of difficulty in their lives. She goes about her work daily with skill and compassion. She's an excellent communicator and is devoted to providing the very best care to her clientele. I am confident that people of all ages will find her to be a wonderful, supportive therapist.”
Jennifer Lewis RD, LD, CEDRD, Eating Recovery Center