About Murad Counseling

Direct, Evidence-Based Therapy With a Human Being in the Room

Felix Murad combines structured, evidence-based treatment with person-centered clinical judgment. You should not have to choose between being understood and receiving treatment that directly addresses the pattern keeping you stuck. Good care requires both.

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Felix Murad, M.Ed., LPC-S, LMHC, CMHC, NCC · Licensed by the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council.

Felix Murad, M.Ed., LPC-S. OCD and anxiety therapist providing telehealth therapy in Texas, Washington, New Hampshire, and Florida
Why This Practice Exists

Support Matters. So Does Knowing What to Do Next.

People arrive here at every stage. Some are considering therapy for the first time; others are building on earlier work. What they share is the desire to understand the mechanism that is actually maintaining the problem, and to treat that mechanism directly. Feeling understood is necessary. It is not sufficient.

At Murad Counseling, structured treatment means the plan is visible to you from the first sessions, including what we are targeting, how progress will be evaluated, and what successful completion may look like.

Treatment here includes:

  • Accurate assessment before intervention
  • A clear formulation of what maintains the problem
  • A treatment rationale you can question
  • Measurable goals set collaboratively
  • Progress reviewed against those goals
  • Discharge planning was discussed from the beginning
Clinical Philosophy

Person-Centered Does Not Mean Directionless

My work is grounded in a humanistic, collaborative foundation while remaining direct, structured, and clinically accountable. Respecting autonomy does not require a therapist to become passive or vague. Collaboration and sound clinical judgment belong together.

You remain the expert on your life.

Therapy should preserve autonomy, dignity, and informed choice. Decisions about your life are yours; my role is to ensure you are well-informed.

I am responsible for clinical competence.

I should know what I am treating, why an intervention is being used, and when to change course. That accountability rests with me, not with you.

Evidence guides treatment

ERP, EMDR, ACT, CBT, and Habit Reversal Training are used when clinically appropriate, not because they are fashionable or by default.

Treatment should have a destination.

Goals, progress, and discharge planning are discussed openly. Treatment should continue because it remains clinically useful, not merely because another weekly appointment is available.

Specialization

Specialized Training for Problems Generic Therapy Often Misses

Each area below has a dedicated page that explains the approach and what the treatment involves.

OCD & Intrusive Thoughts

Obsessions, mental rituals, reassurance seeking, checking, and avoidance. Treatment uses Exposure and Response Prevention informed by inhibitory learning, targeting the obsessive-compulsive cycle rather than debating each fear.

Anxiety & Panic

Prediction, physiological alarm, escape habits, and safety behaviors that organize life around avoidance. Treatment may use CBT, ACT, behavioral experiments, and exposure to bring about changes in functioning, not merely insight.

Trauma & PTSD

When memory, physiological activation, or relationships keep the past present, EMDR and trauma-focused care are paced according to stability, readiness, and clinical need.

BFRBs: Skin Picking & Hair Pulling

Urges and automatic habit loops are rarely changed by willpower alone. Habit Reversal Training targets awareness, antecedents, stimulus control, and competing responses at the behavioral level.

Credentials & Experience

Training Matters When the Treatment Is Specialized

ERP, EMDR, and Habit Reversal Training require specific clinical competencies. Poorly selected or poorly delivered interventions may be ineffective and can create distress without meaningful therapeutic benefit. Specialized training helps ensure that the intervention matches the diagnosis, maintaining mechanisms, readiness, and clinical context.

Credentials do not replace clinical judgment. They make that judgment accountable to the scope of practice, ethical standards, supervision, continuing education, and the evidence base.

  • M.Ed. in Guidance and Counseling from a CACREP-accredited program
  • LPC-S in Texas
  • LMHC in Washington
  • CMHC in New Hampshire
  • Florida out-of-state telehealth registration
  • NCC
  • More than 10 years of mental health experience
  • Board-approved supervision for Texas LPC Associates
  • Training in ERP, EMDR, CBT, ACT, DBT, CPT, HRT, and trauma-focused care
Working Together

What It Is Like to Work With Me

Candid, collaborative, and specific. Here is the working agreement in plain language.

In session

  • I am direct once you are comfortable, but never out of malice.
  • I will explain what we are doing and why.
  • I will tell you when I think an approach is not working.
  • Humor is welcome when it helps. The work remains purposeful.

Between sessions

  • You may be asked to practice skills or exposures between sessions when clinically indicated.
  • I will not keep you in therapy merely because a weekly appointment is available.
  • I respect autonomy, but I will not pretend every intervention is equally effective.
  • Between-session support through text or message (non-crisis)
Identity & Context

The Whole Person Comes Into the Room

Respect is non-negotiable

This practice does not tolerate hate, racism, harassment, or dehumanization. Therapy here can be direct and challenging without becoming shaming.

Affirming care is clinical care.

LGBTQIA+ clients are welcome and affirmed. Identity is not treated as a side issue, a debate, or a problem to explain away.

Context comes into the room.

BIPOC, multicultural, immigrant, veteran, religious, nonreligious, and historically marginalized clients are welcome. Culture, family systems, beliefs, and lived experience may be clinically relevant.

The full person matters

Symptoms are not treated in isolation from identity, shame, values, relationships, and history. The work is structured because the whole person matters.

You will be asked to do real work here. You will not be asked to earn basic respect.

Fit

Is This the Right Practice for You?

This practice may be a good fit if…

  • You want structure, not endless reflection without direction.
  • You want a therapist who explains the treatment model.
  • You are willing to practice skills or exposures between sessions.
  • You value honesty over reassurance.
  • You want evidence-based treatment that still respects your autonomy.
  • You are seeking specialty care for OCD, anxiety, trauma, or BFRBs.

This may not be the right fit if…

  • You want only a supportive conversation, not behavioral change.
  • You want certainty or reassurance to be the primary intervention.
  • You are unable or unwilling to complete the informed-consent, intake, and treatment-planning requirements needed to begin outpatient care.
  • You need a higher level of care than outpatient telehealth can safely offer.

Neither list is a judgment. Appropriate fit protects your time, safety, and treatment outcome. When this practice is not the appropriate match or level of care, you will receive a direct answer and reasonable guidance on referrals.

FAQ

Common Questions About Working Together

Direct, structured, and collaborative, on a humanistic foundation. You will always know what we are doing, why we are doing it, and how progress will be reviewed against your goals.

Yes. OCD and intrusive thoughts are a primary specialty, treated with Exposure and Response Prevention informed by the inhibitory learning model. The OCD therapy page explains the full approach.

Yes. EMDR and trauma-focused care are offered, paced around stability, tolerance, and what your system can realistically hold. See the EMDR therapy page for details.

Yes. Trichotillomania, excoriation disorder, and related BFRBs are treated with Habit Reversal Training and behaviorally specific interventions. The Habit Reversal Training page explains how it works.

Murad Counseling is primarily a private-pay practice with limited insurance participation. Superbills may be available for possible out-of-network reimbursement. Coverage and reimbursement are determined by the client’s plan. See the pricing page for current details.

Felix Murad is licensed in Texas (LPC-S), Washington (LMHC), and New Hampshire (CMHC), and is a registered out-of-state telehealth provider in Florida.

That is what the brief consultation is for. You can describe what has been stuck, ask preliminary questions, and get a direct read on whether this practice is appropriate. When it does not appear to be the right match or level of care, reasonable referral guidance may be provided.

There is no guaranteed timeline. Structured treatments such as ERP and Habit Reversal Training are often time-limited rather than open-ended, and progress is reviewed against your goals throughout. Individual courses vary.

Next Step

A Brief Consultation Can Clarify Whether This Is the Right Fit

The consultation is a brief fitness assessment rather than a therapy session. It helps us clarify the presenting concern, answer preliminary questions, and determine whether this practice is appropriate before treatment begins.

Request a Free 15-Minute Consultation

Consultation requests are kept confidential within legal and ethical limits.

Felix Murad, M.Ed., LPC-S, LMHC, CMHC, NCC · Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor · Licensed by the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council, Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors · Licensed in Texas, Washington, and New Hampshire; registered to provide telehealth in Florida. To report a concern about a licensed counselor, contact: Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council, 1801 Congress Ave., Ste. 7.300, Austin, TX 78701 · bhec.texas.gov