Our Team
Krystal Nicodemus, MS, LPC, NCC
Founder & Licensed Professional Counselor
Mentality, PLLC was founded by Krystal Nicodemus, a Nationally Certified Licensed Professional Counselor with a passion for helping people better understand themselves, navigate life's challenges, and create meaningful, lasting change.
Krystal believes that therapy begins with connection. People deserve a space where they can be honest about what they're experiencing, feel genuinely heard and understood, and explore their challenges without fear of judgment. Her approach is warm, empathetic, collaborative, and grounded in the belief that effective therapy should address the whole person—not simply a diagnosis or a collection of symptoms.
Her clinical experience includes working with individuals experiencing mood disorders, anxiety, trauma, PTSD, ADHD, OCD, substance use, and other mental health concerns. She incorporates evidence-based therapeutic approaches including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Person-Centered Therapy (PCT), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), tailoring treatment to each individual's needs, experiences, and goals.
For Krystal, therapy is both a place to process and a place to grow. She works with clients to develop practical coping strategies, strengthen emotional awareness, build resilience, and better understand the patterns that may be affecting their thoughts, behaviors, relationships, and overall well-being.
Krystal's path to becoming a mental health professional has been shaped by experiences in service, science, and a deep curiosity about human behavior.
Before entering the mental health field, Krystal served in the military as a Psychological Operations (PSYOP) specialist. Her military experience strengthened her interest in communication, culture, resilience, human behavior, and the ways individuals and communities respond to adversity and change.
Her interest in understanding people extends beyond psychology alone. Krystal earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, providing her with a strong foundation in the biological sciences and an appreciation for the complex relationship between the mind, body, and human behavior.
She went on to earn a CACREP-accredited master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Capella University and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology.
Her multidisciplinary background allows her to approach mental health from multiple perspectives while remaining curious about the biological, psychological, social, cultural, and environmental factors that shape each person's experience.
A Background Shaped by Service, Science, and Curiosity
Krystal believes people are more than their symptoms.
Who you are today has been shaped by your history, relationships, culture, environment, biology, experiences, beliefs, strengths, and the ways you've learned to cope with the world around you.
Therapy provides an opportunity to slow down and better understand those influences. It can help you recognize patterns, process experiences, develop healthier coping strategies, and identify what may no longer be serving you.
Krystal does not believe therapy should be about changing who you are. Instead, she believes it should help you better understand yourself, recognize your strengths, and create the changes that allow you to live with greater intention and fulfillment.
A Whole-Person Approach to Therapy
There is no single path to healing, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to therapy.
Krystal works collaboratively with each client to understand where they are, where they want to go, and what may help them get there. Whether you're working through anxiety, trauma, emotional difficulties, relationship challenges, substance use, or simply feeling stuck, therapy can provide a supportive environment to explore what's happening and begin moving forward.
You don't have to have everything figured out before you begin.
You don't have to become someone else to heal.
You deserve the opportunity to understand yourself more deeply, build on your strengths, and become a healthier, more fulfilled version of yourself.
At Mentality, the goal isn't simply to help you get through what's difficult today. It's to help you develop the insight, skills, and resilience to move forward with greater confidence.