About the Practice
"My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style."
-Maya Angelou
Dr. Krista Brittain, Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Greetings! I am Krista Brittain. I grew up in various parts of Iowa and graduated from high school in Boone. I attended the University of Iowa for my undergraduate education, majoring in Psychology and Dance, and the University of Denver in Colorado for my graduate work in Clinical Psychology. I completed my internship at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and my post-doctoral fellowship at Trinity Hospital in Minot, North Dakota. After having lived elsewhere for several years, I can honestly say it has been a joy to be closer to my family and friends in recent years! When I am not working, my spouse and I enjoy watching football, enjoying Des Moines events, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. We also welcomed our first child in late 2017, and we are constantly overwhelmed with joy, wonder, and many other emotions about being parents!
Dedicated to Empowering Diverse Lives
I have been incredibly blessed in a number of ways in my life, not the least of which is the opportunity to have found a career I am so inspired by. I am proud and honored to do my life’s work as a psychologist. I have experience working with individuals (children, adolescents, and adults), couples, families, and community groups/organizations. I enjoy opportunities to get out into the community by providing educational programs. In the office, I have interest in working with a broad spectrum of people and concerns. As a therapist and assessor, I speak both English and Spanish, and I treat many types of concerns including anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties/concerns, communication, identity concerns, personality patterns and disorders, attention difficulties, coping with traumatic experiences, grief/loss, life stress, and others.
My Approach
In my approach to clinical work, I believe that a solid understanding of oneself is the key to good mental and emotional health. This typically involves discussing thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and relationships as well as cultural variables and past experiences. I believe that it is of the utmost importance for me to get to know you as a person before I can be helpful to you, so I also focus quite a bit of attention on the therapeutic relationship itself. I also believe that mental/emotional health is only one part of overall health. Therefore, we may discuss other aspects of health, such as physical health, spiritual health, relational health, etc. Because people are complex, we work hard to affirm and support all aspects of your identity, including race, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Additionally, we will intentionally work from a neurodiversity-affirming perspective.
Testing
Through the lens of Collaborative/Therapeutic Assessment (CTA), I specialize in educational, cognitive, diagnostic, and psychological assessment/testing. Assessment/testing can help you identify and better understand many aspects of yourself or your child better, such as attention differences/ADHD, autism and traits/characteristics of the autistic experience, learning differences (ex: math, reading, dyslexia), mood or anxiety concerns, and other symptoms or diagnoses. Testing can also help to illuminate personality and relationship patterns that may be contributing to stress or difficulties. If you have questions about how to communicate or relate better as a family or couple, we can also include a family component in your assessment process.
Education and Involvement
Bachelor of Arts in Dance and Psychology (B.A.) University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology (M.A.) Univeristy of Denver, Denver, CO
Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.) University of Denver, Denver, CO
State of Iowa Licenses as Clinical Psychologist and Health Services Provider
Member of the Iowa Psychological Association
Member of the Society for Personality Assessment (SPA)
Member of the Therapeutic Assessment Institute
Member of the National Register of Health Service Psychologists
Co-chair of the SPA Collaborative/Therapeutic Assessment Interest Group