LMFT, 11 years of experience
Frequently rebooked
Hi, I am Ellen Thomas, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Macon, Georgia. I did my undergrad at Auburn University and completed my masters at Mercer University. I have been counseling children, adolescents, adults, couples, and groups for over ten years now. I have mainly utilized telehealth for the past 4 years and absolutely love it. I love collaborating with my clients to achieve their goals and alleviate the symptoms causing distress.
In our first session together, I will spend a little time telling you about what to expect in therapy and how it works. The remainder of the session will be focused on you. This is begun by asking, "Can you tell me in your own words what led up to you deciding that it was time for therapy?" Followed by us completing a genogram (family map) that is so important in helping me understand a person as a whole. We will later move on to your goals.
My clients have most reported that they appreciate that I attentively listen and ask questions to genuinely understand their experiences. They love that I am very empathetic, yet remain focused on providing tools for them to achieve their goals. My clients appreciate that I am "real" and do not mind sharing life experiences when it can be beneficial to their situation. I genuinely care for my clients and want to see them achieve their goals and live a better life.
I love working with adults and couples. It is exciting and very rewarding to teach scientific and researched based skills that can effectively change their lives and relationships for the better.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the foundation of therapy. I use specialized techniques to assist my clients in becoming more aware of their autonomic thoughts and use exercises to encourage new neural pathway development and strengthening.
During these counseling sessions, I work with my clients through specific memories, negative beliefs, and emotional focus while engaging in sets of bilateral stimulation such as eye movements or repeated gentle taps. EMDR is an empirically validated form of therapy for treating trauma.
My goal with couple's counseling is to teach a method of communicating that allows couples to resolve their own issues during and after therapy. I use a combination of Gottman techniques and attachment based methods to achieve this goal.
As a marriage and family therapist, I have specific systemic training that focuses on not only the individuals in the system, but the system as a whole. I always encourage family members to be a part of therapy when and if it can be beneficial to my client achieving their goals.
Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) is an evidence based treatment approach that addresses the mental health needs of children, adolescents, and families suffering from the destructive effects of early trauma. The treatment is particularly sensitive to the unique problems of youth with post-traumatic stress and mood disorders resulting from sexual abuse, as well as from physical abuse, violence, or grief. It is a short term method of treatment usually requiring 8-10 sessions.