About The Practice

Founded in 2020, Austin City Counseling was born in the middle of the pandemic. We are committed to providing high-quality therapy that is effective, approachable, and focused on the issues you care about most. We believe that feeling seen and understood are key to making therapy work. We also believe in walking the walk and our approach to therapy reflects that.

Austin City Counseling is a therapy private practice in Austin, TX. We are a virtual practice, which means we see clients on video sessions, wherever is most convenient for you. We are an outpatient practice and see clients by appointment only.

A Note from Our Founder,

Katy Manganella

I started Austin City Counseling with a deep desire to create a space where I could be my most authentic self. My goal is for this space to be that for you, too. We do a lot of asking about you in therapy. I think it makes sense that you would want to know a little about me, too.

What I want you to know

As a therapist, I’m going to try to talk to you exactly like I’d talk to my best friend. Look, it can be hard to be a person. And it’s even harder to be a person who knows themselves well and loves that person with compassion, kindness, and understanding. That’s basically what I do. I come alongside the people I work with to help them build a better relationship with themselves. Together, we move away from self-criticism, imposter syndrome, perfectionism, and anxiety and we move toward a balanced, fulfilling, connected life. Is this resonating? You absolutely do not have to be alone with this any more. You are my people and I’d love to work with you.

I connect well with hard workers and high-achievers with little tolerance for their own perceived BS. When we meet, they feel worn down and worried. In the beginning, I often hear things like “I worked so hard to get here, why do I feel this way?” or “What do I want and who even am I?” As an elder Millennial myself, I love working with ages 20-40.

The people I work with often say we’d be friends if we met another way and frankly, I agree! I use a good dash of humor in therapy, so you can expect me to laugh alongside you at how ridiculous life can be. As your therapist, I promise to be authentic, empowering, and honest with you.

I love working with:
  • Millennials and Gen Zs
  • Anxiety and related issues like people pleasing, perfectionism, and imposter syndrome
  • Self criticism and folks who are way harder on themselves than they are on anyone else
  • Burnout and over-achieving
  • Those who has been called “wise for your age”
  • Folks who look successful on LinkedIn but feel unfulfilled and like their achievements aren’t equating to life satisfaction
  • Relationship issues of all types, especially if you have an anxious attachment type
The three therapy modalities I most strongly integrate into therapy are:
  1. Compassion Focused Therapy
  2. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
  3. Attachment-based Therapy

Professional Background & Credentials

My credentials do to this work:

After finishing graduate school in 2011, I moved to New York City where I provided counseling services to people who had experienced homelessness. I worked at both The Doe Fund and Volunteers of America – Greater New York while there.  In 2015, I made the move back home to Texas and I started working with the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition in Austin, TX. My work there focused on implementing evidence-based programming for ending youth homelessness in our community. In 2018, I had a career shift and went into private practice with Austin Family Counseling. I also completed yoga teacher training that year. All of this led me to opening Austin City Counseling in 2020, a few months into the pandemic. Across all of my experience over the years, I have found that, no matter our backgrounds, each of us yearn to be loved, to belong, and to be significant.

Personally

I am a native Texan and grew up a couple of hours outside of Austin in one of those tiny towns you probably haven’t heard of. After bouncing around the country through my 20’s, I landed in Austin, met someone on Tinder (lol), eloped with that person in Spain, and planted roots in Central Austin. Best decision ever. When I’m not at work, you can find me on a hiking trail with my dog, eating Taco Deli, and trying to keep my plants alive. And when it’s all said and done, you can find me on a patio somewhere with a cold drink in hand.

– Katy

Schedule with Katy

Meet Our Team

Bailey Van Cleave, LPC-A

(Supervised by Sarah Walters, LPC-S)

Good for you for looking for a therapist! Having had meaningful experiences in therapy myself, I know that the work you’re putting into finding the right therapist will be worth it. Part of the reason I became a therapist is to do for others what some incredible therapists have done for me. Long story short, therapy can make a huge difference.

Therapeutically, you can expect me to meet you exactly where you’re at. What does that mean? I approach therapy without a sense of hierarchy and instead with the spirit of collaboration and an overwhelming sense of compassion. I see myself as someone who holds space for you to be to you, with no judgment or pressure-y expectations to be something or someone else. Counseling with me is authentic and whole hearted. I am going to do my absolute best to ensure you feel seen, heard, accepted for who you are. And if humor is your coping mechanism of choice, you can expect me to laugh right there with you (and then, of course, point out what you’re doing ;).

Here are my most relevant qualifications to do this work:
  • Licensed by the State of Texas as a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate, supervised by Sarah Walters. License no. 89180
  • MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from St. Edwards University
  • Trained in EMDR
  • Fellow human

I grew up in Dallas and quickly took off for North Carolina where I obtained my bachelor’s degree in Studio Art with a concentration in Psychology. I then moved to the beautiful city of Austin and got my masters at St. Edwards. During my time in college and through these life experiences, I have felt inspired by how connected we are as human beings, but also by how unique we are as individuals as we navigate our own life’s struggles and successes. Really what I want you to know is that I’m going to take what I know and apply it to your unique personality, perspective, and needs. I’m not a one-size-fits-all therapist, but rather someone who gets that no one exactly like you has ever lived before and you deserve an approach that reflects that.

As I mentioned at the beginning, I came into this career because after my own personal experiences in therapy, it was evident that I wanted to be the same light for others that my therapists were for me. But it’s important to mention that although these therapists did indeed provide a light for me, they also helped me find the light within myself, which is exactly what I hope to do for you.

I love working with:
  • Gen Zs and Millennials who are looking for a therapist who gets it
  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Relationship issues (with significant others, family, friends, or yourself)
  • People pleasing
  • Folks with hurt feelings that won’t go away
  • And anyone wanting to build a life that feels more authentic to themselves

I’ve never felt like I’ve belonged anywhere as much as I do in the weird and funky city of Austin, Texas. I love practicing yoga, playing with my cats, and exploring the nature, food and music the city has to offer.

I offer free 20-min consultation calls to folks curious about working with me.

– Bailey

Schedule with Bailey

Think therapy may be right for you?

Austin City Counseling is committed to providing high-quality therapy that is effective, approachable, and focused on the issues you care about most. We believe that feeling seen and understood are key to making therapy work.

Schedule an appointment

Where we are

Location

Austin City Counseling is based in Austin, Texas. While we primarily work with Austinites, we serve all of Texas.

We exclusively offer tele-therapy (video) sessions, allowing you to come to therapy from your couch, office, car, or literally anywhere with internet access. No traffic, no parking, no extra time out of your day.