Grow Therapy Home
Ellen Thomas profile image

Ellen Thomas

Ellen Thomas

LMFT
3 years of experience
Solution oriented
Authentic
Direct
Virtual

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 ten years. I have mainly utilized telehealth for the past 3 years and absolutely love it. I love working with my clients to collaborate and achieve their goals to alleviate the symptoms causing distress.

What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?

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 goals.

Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.

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.

Describe the client(s) you are best positioned to serve.

I love working with adults and couples. It is exciting and very rewarding to teach them skills that effectively change their lives and relationships for the better.

About Ellen Thomas

Identifies as

Specializes in

Serves ages

Licensed in

Accepts

Appointments

Virtual

My treatment methods

Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)

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.

EMDR

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.

Couples Counseling

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.

Family Therapy

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 CBT

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.