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 



Contact Information

3408 Woodland Ave. Suite 102

West Des Moines, IA 50266

P:515-868-2753

DrKrista@KristaBrittainPsyD.com 

In case of emergency, call 9-1-1 or go to your nearest hospital. 

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!

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. I speak both English and Spanish in my therapy practice, 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.

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.

In addition to therapy/counseling, I also specialize in educational, cognitive, diagnostic, and psychological testing. Testing can help you identify and better understand attention difficulties and/or ADHD, Autism spectrum symptoms (including Asperger’s and Pervasive Developmental Disorders), learning difficulties (ex: math, reading, “dyslexia”), mood or anxiety symptoms, and other symptoms or diagnoses. Testing can also help to illuminate personality and relationship patterns that may be contributing to stress or difficulties.

I look forward to an opportunity to work with you whether for therapy, assessment/testing, or a community-based presentation! Please contact me if you have any questions or to request service or a presentation.