Compassionate Counseling Services in CT & NYS

At Live Better Counseling PLLC, we provide personalized individual therapy for children, adolescents, and adults facing life's challenges. Our therapists work collaboratively with clients to develop practical tools for emotional wellness, healthier relationships, and personal growth.

Kira Akulova-Nickerson, LMFT, LPC, brings over a decade of experience helping clients navigate anxiety, depression, trauma, ADHD, life transitions, family conflict, divorce, parenting challenges, and relationship concerns. Her approach integrates evidence-based therapies, including Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), family systems approaches, and trauma-informed care.

Dawn Insanalli, MFT Associate, offers a warm, supportive environment where clients can explore stress, anxiety, emotional regulation, family concerns, hoarding disorder, relationship challenges, and major life transitions. Dawn helps clients identify strengths, improve communication, and develop practical strategies for positive change.

Whether you are seeking support during a difficult season of life or working toward long-term emotional wellness, our team is here to help you build a life that feels more balanced, connected, and fulfilling.

Healthy relationships require communication, trust, understanding, and ongoing effort. Our couples counseling services help partners strengthen their connection, improve communication, navigate conflict, and rebuild trust.

Kira works extensively with couples experiencing relationship distress, communication breakdowns, infidelity recovery, separation concerns, blended family challenges, and life transitions that impact the relationship. She helps couples develop healthier patterns of interaction while fostering emotional safety and connection.

Dawn has a special clinical interest in couples therapy, premarital counseling, and marital enrichment. As a certified PREPARE/ENRICH Facilitator, she helps engaged and married couples identify strengths, address growth areas, and develop skills that support long-term relationship success. Couples seeking to strengthen their foundation before marriage or reconnect during challenging times benefit from her structured and supportive approach.

Services include:

• Premarital Counseling
• Marriage Counseling
• Relationship Enrichment
• Communication Skills Training
• Conflict Resolution
• Infidelity and Betrayal Recovery
• Separation and Reconciliation Support

Families often face challenges that impact communication, connection, and overall well-being. Family therapy provides a supportive environment where family members can better understand one another, resolve conflicts, and strengthen relationships.

Kira specializes in working with children, adolescents, parents, and families experiencing behavioral concerns, school-related stress, family transitions, divorce, co-parenting difficulties, emotional regulation challenges, and parent-child communication struggles.

Dawn utilizes Structural Family Therapy and Strategic Family Therapy techniques to help families improve communication, strengthen boundaries, and create healthier relational patterns.

Our goal is to help families build stronger connections while developing practical solutions that support lasting change.

Group therapy offers a unique opportunity to gain support, learn new skills, and connect with others who share similar experiences. Participants benefit from both professional guidance and peer support within a safe and confidential setting.

Live Better Counseling periodically offers skills-based and psychoeducational groups focused on emotional wellness, coping skills, communication, anxiety management, relationship health, and personal growth. Group offerings may vary throughout the year based on community needs and client interest.

Relationships influence nearly every aspect of our lives—from dating and marriage to family connections, friendships, and our relationship with ourselves. Yet many people find themselves repeating unhealthy patterns, struggling with communication, recovering from heartbreak, or wondering why meaningful connection feels out of reach.

At Live Better Counseling PLLC, we help individuals and couples better understand their attachment styles, emotional triggers, relationship patterns, and communication habits. Whether you are navigating dating, divorce, family conflict, infidelity, or life transitions, we provide practical tools and insight to help you build healthier, more fulfilling relationships.

Together, we help you create stronger connections, healthier boundaries, greater confidence, and relationships where you feel valued, understood, and genuinely connected.

Major life transitions can create uncertainty, stress, and emotional overwhelm. Whether you are navigating a career change, returning to work, balancing family responsibilities, entering retirement, or facing significant life decisions, therapy can provide valuable support.

Kira's unique background combining clinical expertise with an MBA allows her to help clients explore career challenges, professional growth, workplace stress, leadership development, and major life transitions from both emotional and practical perspectives.

Our therapists help clients clarify goals, identify strengths, build confidence, and create meaningful plans that align with their values and long-term vision for the future.