Woman sitting cross-legged in beige suit, smiling.

“Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness.”

-Brene Brown

Director of Clinical Care

Sharla Austin

MS , LMFT

Sharla Austin is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of Texas. She received her undergraduate degree at Boston College before pursuing a Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy at Texas Woman’s University. Sharla’s clinical training took place at the Department of Psychiatry’s Family Studies Center and the Neurology Clinic at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. Sharla’s training was instrumental in fostering a deep love of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) which is a research proven approach and the primary modality of therapy that she utilizes when working with individuals, families, and couples.

Sharla is a Professional Member of the Texas Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. She is also on the Steering Team for the North Texas EFT Community. Prior to co-founding Relational Therapy Collective, Sharla served in supervisory and clinical director roles in addition to her role as a clinician. While gaining clinical experience at UT Southwestern, Sharla also worked with medical students and psychiatry residents to help train future medical professionals to take a more wholistic approach to understanding their patients and thus improve treatment outcomes. Sharla had the immense honor of providing medical family therapy to patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and their families as a part of the their treatment team at UT Southwestern’s Neurology Clinic. Sharla also authored a chapter of the book “Case Studies in Couple and Family Therapy” which is a resource used by supervisors and educators in the field of marriage and family therapy with therapists-in-training.

A PASSION FOR HELPING PEOPLE THRIVE RELATIONALLY

We are all relational beings and we are hard wired for connection. We are deeply affected and impacted by the quality of our relationships. The reality is that relationships are complicated and often bring emotional pain, loneliness, and discouragement. When our relationships are thriving we are not only happier and healthier; they can help us live longer too. We are more resilient and we are more able to effectively navigate the stresses of life when our relationships are doing well. When we are disconnected, and experiencing relational distress, we are more prone to experience heightened amounts of stress, anxiety, sadness, and negative impacts to our physical wellbeing.

Informed by EFT, Sharla helps those she works with understand interactional patterns that cause emotional disconnection and works to help them repair painful relational ruptures and create safety and trust in their most important relationships.

Sharla’s passion and experience as a therapist can help you grow, heal, and feel more at peace and connected in your relationships. Sharla can offer meaningful tools, deeper understanding and helpful insight for individuals, couples and families navigating challenging life circumstances, life transitions, experiencing disconnection and discord in important relationships, and those learning to cope with chronic, debilitating or terminal medical conditions.

CREDENTIALS:

Texas License in Marriage and Family Therapy
International Centre for Excellence in EFT Certificate: Core Skills Training in EFT (2019)
International Center for Excellence in EFT: Certificate Externship in EFT (2018)
Prepare/Enrich Certified Facilitator

ENDORSEMENTS

  • "I’m thinking how rare it is that we actually know whether another therapist is great, because we are not in the room to observe them with clients. Sure, there are recommendations and good outcomes, but without actually observing someone’s therapeutic style, the alliance they build, how they balance that alliance with each family member in the room, how they utilize their model and apply theory…how do we know? However, in this case, I have actually done co-therapy with Sharla, observed her work with clients, and even read deeply introspective chapters contributed to textbooks authored by Sharla. She’s a wonderful, multipartial, highly trained systems therapist.”

    —Mindy Howard, MS, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

  • “Sharla has the wisdom and relatability to create a felt sense of genuine support and clear structure as she navigates the toughest obstacles with her clients. I had the honor of observing her heartfelt empathy and engagement with her clients. She consistently seeks feedback and advanced training to serve clients to her best ability, demonstrating her trustworthiness as a clinician.”

    —Morgan Doolittle, MS, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

  • “Sharla is a compassionate, dedicated, and gentle therapist who meets clients where they are and motivates them to embrace new experiences. She truly understands relational dynamics, couple communication issues, and the importance of developing intimate connections in close relationships. Sharla is a soulful therapist who will work to deeply understand and situate herself in a person’s experience. Her respect for her work and her clients is commendable, as is her professional demeanor and the spirit with which she cultivates professional relationships. I highly recommend Sharla.”

    —Shirley Shropshire, MS, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and Owner

  • “I have witnessed very moving and meaningful change events occur between family members who are trusting their therapeutic experience to Sharla. Her sensitivity, warmth, and honed skills will not disappoint. I highly recommend her services.”

    —Laura Flowers, MA, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Licensed Professional Counselor, and Owner