Grief counselors and therapists in Newport News, VA

I'm a dual board-certified Family and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner providing compassionate, evidence-based care tailored to your unique needs. For the past 8 years, I’ve worked closely with individuals managing chronic pain and substance use disorders, providing integrated support that addresses both physical and mental health needs. I specialize in diagnosing and treating a wide range of psychiatric conditions including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and PTSD with a focus on individuals over 18 years old.

You’re used to holding it all together—but stress, anxiety, or emotional exhaustion may be catching up. I help high-functioning women navigate burnout, regain balance, and feel like themselves again. I provide collaborative psychiatric care including diagnostic clarification, medication management, and support to stabilize symptoms of burnout, anxiety, depression, and stress-related concerns.

Hi, my name is Austin and welcome to my private practice. As a man who has been deeply affected and healed by counseling, I get the need and role of counseling firsthand. This is why I love counseling: I believe humans were created to share their stories and to work through difficulties together. Counseling is my life’s passion. I am truly honored and delighted to now walk alongside others in dark places toward durable hope and lasting change.

I am personally acquainted with the pain of grief. After the loss of my mother to suicide, I began a counseling journey that revealed many unexplored areas in my life that needed compassion and care. These experiences have brought me face to face with life’s difficulties.

I received my Bachelor’s Degree from the United States Air Force Academy (Colorado Springs, CO) in Foreign Area Studies (Russia and Eastern Europe). After graduation, I worked as a military aviator and US Air Force Officer in domestic and international locations. I returned to graduate school to pursue a Master’s of Arts in Counseling and a Master’s of Divinity at Covenant Theological Seminary. Over the years, as a counselor, I have worked in a community-based counseling center, as a staff counselor for a church counseling center, and I am now in independent practice, working with men, veterans, couples, and families navigating trauma and PTSD, and the many ups and downs of life.

I have traveled throughout the world during my Air Force career. Seeing the many ways humans experience the world, in all its pain and joy, has only increased my passion to care for others. From working with teenagers and their struggles to individuals seeking hope to the married couple with decades of experience to everyone in between. I love working with people who are struggling and want change.

I’m really glad you’re here.

Many of the people I work with are used to being capable, thoughtful, and strong for others, but inside, something feels off. You might be dealing with anxiety, depression, burnout, or a sense that you’ve lost connection with yourself. Sometimes it’s not just about what’s happening right now, but patterns that have been quietly shaping your life for a long time.

I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor based in Colorado, with over 20 years experience working across a wide range of settings, including community mental health, mobile crisis and co-response, skilled nursing, public health, and critical access hospitals. This background allows me to meet you where you are, whether you’re navigating everyday stress or something more complex, to bring both depth and compassion to our work.

I work with adults navigating anxiety, depression, substance use concerns, life transitions (career, relationships, health, identity shifts), and the lingering impact of stress or past experiences.

I work with adults experiencing ADHD, anxiety, depression, relationship challenges, life transitions and grief. Many of my clients feel stuck or unsure how to move forward, whether that involves improving focus and follow-through, coping with loss, or navigating changes in mood and life circumstances.

You may be overwhelmed, struggling to stay focused, or going through a difficult change in your life that makes you feel stressed out.

With over 30 years of experience in healthcare as both a Licensed Professional Counselor and Registered Nurse, I bring a practical understanding of how physical, emotional, and mental health are connected, especially for adults managing ADHD, focus challenges, and overwhelm.

⭐Rita Ososanya, DNP, PMHNP‐BC, is a board‐certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with more than twenty years of nursing experience and six years dedicated to advanced psychiatric practice. She specializes in comprehensive psychiatric evaluations, diagnostic formulation, and evidence‐based medication management for adults with complex mental health needs, including mood disorders, anxiety, trauma‐related conditions, psychotic disorders, ADHD, and substance use disorders. Her DNP training strengthened her leadership, clinical decision‐making, and commitment to measurement‐based, patient‐centered care. Rita is known for her calm, empathetic communication style and her ability to collaborate effectively across interdisciplinary teams to support safe, individualized, and trauma‐informed treatment.

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). I received my Master's in Clinical Social Work from the University of Southern California and a Master's in Psychology/Educational Psychology from Capella University. I am clinically trained in multiple modalities to include EMDR, Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy, and Trauma Psychotherapy.