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Kirsten Banks, MA, LPC, CPCS, CAI, CIP
Founder & Clinical Director | Therapist & Interventionist
Kirsten Banks is the founder and clinical director of Therapeutic Recovery Network, where she brings over 25 years of experience supporting individuals and families facing complex substance use, trauma, and mental health challenges. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Certified Professional Counselor Supervisor (CPCS), Certified ARISE® Interventionist (CAI), and Certified Intervention Professional (CIP).
More about Kirsten
Kirsten is known for her intuitive ability to assess what people truly need and for guiding families toward meaningful, lasting healing. Whether offering intervention services, trauma-informed therapy, or family consulting, she blends deep clinical expertise with compassion and clarity. Her work centers around whole-family healing — helping not just the identified individual, but the entire family system recover and grow.
As a nationally certified interventionist, Kirsten walks families through high-stakes moments with structure, clarity, and care. She remains involved through the full continuum of support — from the first phone call to placement, follow-up, and recovery guidance. As a therapist, she provides individual, couples, family, and trauma therapy to clients across the recovery spectrum. For those she intervenes with directly, she works closely with her team to ensure a seamless transition to therapeutic care aligned with their needs.
In her role as clinical director, Kirsten also conducts assessments and evaluations, expertly matching individuals and families with the most appropriate therapist or service on her team. She leads a group of highly skilled clinicians, ensuring that every client receives personalized, trauma-informed care grounded in deep clinical insight and decades of experience.
As a Certified Professional Counselor Supervisor (CPCS), Kirsten also provides clinical supervision to associate-level therapists working toward licensure in the state of Georgia. She offers supervision that is grounded in real-world experience, trauma-informed principles, and systems-based thinking, helping emerging clinicians grow with confidence, competence, and integrity.
Background & Training
Kirsten began her career in 1998 at The Village ISA, a community mental health agency in Long Beach, California, where she supported individuals living with chronic mental illness through integrated, wraparound services. Since then, she has worked across the full continuum of care in the mental health and addiction field — including intensive outpatient (IOP), partial hospitalization (PHP), residential treatment, and inpatient hospital settings.
Her professional background includes clinical and leadership roles with respected organizations such as The Bobby Dodd Institute, Anchor Hospital, North View Counseling & Recovery, JFCS Project Connect, and Crossroads Treatment Center. In 2010, she opened her private practice in Cumming, Georgia. Since then, she has helped hundreds of individuals and families get the treatment, guidance, and clinical care they need — often during some of the most difficult and defining moments of their lives.
Kirsten holds dual Bachelor’s degrees in Sociology and Rehabilitative Services with a minor in Women’s Studies from the University of Florida and a Master’s degree in Professional Counseling from Argosy University. She completed an undergraduate internship with the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, served as a suicide and crisis line counselor, and studied abroad through Boston University’s Social Services program in London, where she worked in residential mental health care for youth.
Her extensive training includes certification in Progressive Counting trauma resolution therapy, training in the Flash Technique for trauma first aid, and EMDR trauma training as of August 2025. She is trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for couples and has pursued deep clinical study in family systems therapy, consulting, and intervention best practices.
Professional Memberships & Community Involvement
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Current member, Forsyth County Drug Awareness Council
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Full member, Association of Intervention Specialists (AIS)
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Member, Licensed Professional Counselors Association of Georgia (LPCAGA)
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Member, Clinical Certification Association of Licensed Professionals
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Active volunteer in the recovery community for over 20 years
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Youth ministry volunteer at a local church for the past 2 years
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Partner with East Forsyth High School to provide mental health services to students
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Clinical support provider for The Place of Forsyth and their residential programs
Areas of Specialty
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Family Consulting & Intervention Services
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Trauma Therapy for Adults and Families
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Complex Substance Use Disorders
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Recovery-Oriented Treatment Planning
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Clinical Supervision and Team Leadership
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Holistic, Systems-Based Family Healing
