Justen Schroeder
Hello! I am Justen Schroeder, a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC) dedicated to helping you push through life’s toughest transitions. My counseling provides a structured, high-impact space for athletes, students, working professionals, and individuals who are navigating trauma, ADHD, or daily stress. Rather than just talking about problems, we collaborate to build a concrete, evidence-based toolkit tailored to your unique goals. By focusing on emotional regulation, practical coping skills, and mental toughness, we will work together to break through your current barriers, manage pressure, and unlock your true potential for lasting, everyday resilience.
First session
In our first session, I like to keep it real, laid-back, and entirely pressure-free. There is no rigid script or cold interrogation; that is not who I am as a counselor, much less a person. Instead, I will use humor, exploratory questions, and genuine authenticity to comfortably dive into what is on your mind. I want you as my client to think of it as a casual, collaborative conversation where you can show up exactly as you are, laugh when needed, cry when you want to, and safely map out where you want to go next. I skip the clinical jargon and focus on building a real, honest client-counselor relationship. While we will absolutely touch on your goals and what brings you to therapy, my main priority, above everything else, is ensuring you feel heard, comfortable, and completely accepted. You don't have to censor yourself or perform for me; your real, authentic/honest, and unpolished self is always welcome. By the time we wrap up, I will know a little more about you, and you will know a little more about me, and we will have a clear sense of how we work together, maybe a few laughs, and a personalized, stress-free game plan for our upcoming weekly sessions.
Strengths
What sets me apart is the powerful intersection of advanced doctoral counseling training and firsthand collegiate athletic experience. Having doctoral-level counseling training/education and a national credential ensures my methods are grounded in the highest standards of evidence-based care. However, my deepest clinical strength stems from my time as a dual-sport collegiate athlete in basketball and tennis. I have lived the high-stakes pressure of championship tournaments, and I know intimately what it takes to grind back from devastating physical injuries mentally, navigate locker room politics, face unfair coaching favoritism, and endure the emotional toll of pouring your soul into your passion without receiving the acknowledgment you deserve. I don't look at you through a cold, clinical lens. Because I have been in your shoes, I intentionally break down the traditional distance and see you as a client. You are a whole person, and I will treat you as such. I bring a laid-back, authentic, and humor-infused delivery to our sessions, creating an environment where high-performers, students, and everyday individuals can drop their armor. My approach is entirely collaborative: whether we use DBT-informed strategies for emotion regulation, CPT-informed structure for trauma processing, or SFBT-informed techniques for rapid momentum and goal setting, you are the expert on your life. I empower you to define your own method for tracking your progress, so our work fits your unique needs rather than a one-size-fits-all approach that may not work.
Ideal clients
I am best positioned to serve athletes, high-performers, students, and individuals navigating trauma, ADHD, major life transitions, or academic challenges. My ideal clients are often dealing with intense pressure, overwhelming anxiety, chronic stress, or past setbacks that disrupt their daily lives. They might feel stuck or held back by unhelpful thinking patterns, executive dysfunction, or emotional burnout. Despite these challenges, they want to change, are motivated, and have a growth mindset. They're committed to finding practical solutions, healing from past experiences, and regaining full control of their futures. Whether you are a competitive athlete struggling with performance anxiety, a student facing intense school pressure, or someone navigating a major life transition, I offer a dedicated, high-impact space to support your personal growth. Beyond competitive athletics, I am equally dedicated to helping everyday high performers, professionals, and individuals manage everyday life stressors. If you are looking to navigate daily challenges, build healthier habits, and achieve balance, we will work collaboratively to develop the practical, everyday coping tools you need to thrive. I specialize in working with individuals who want more than just traditional talk therapy; my clients are looking for a structured, empowering collaboration where they can build a concrete toolkit for long-term success. Together, we will target clear, actionable goals centered on building elite psychological resilience, improving emotional regulation, and mastering distress tolerance. We use evidence-based, trauma-informed frameworks tailored to your situation to address root barriers and reinforce your strengths. Our clinical work is designed to help you efficiently manage stress, overcome performance blocks, and successfully navigate change, ultimately allowing you to reclaim peak performance and thrive in your personal life, academic pursuits, and athletic endeavors.
Treatment methods
Solution-Focused Brief Treatment
I take focus away from dissecting and harping on past problems unless they are very pertinent, and instead focus on your current strengths and future possibilities. Utilizing Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), we will identify your existing strengths and use targeted questions—such as exploring times when the issue wasn't present—to discover what is already working for you. Together, I will work with you and construct clear, actionable, and manageable steps to quickly move you toward your preferred future, personal goals, and hopefully a better life holistically.
Cognitive Processing (CPT)
I address the root of trauma and mental health struggles by utilizing Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), a structured, evidence-based approach. I use this solely to focus on how your past experiences have altered your thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors regarding safety, trust, control, and competence. Together, we will identify unhelpful thinking patterns—or "stuck points"—and systematically develop the tools needed to challenge and reframe them. This process actively changes your brain's ability to deal with past distress, and working towards restoring your confidence and building lasting changes to boost your own resilience.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
I will focus on bridging the gap between emotional regulation and daily functionality using Dialectical Behavior Therapy-Informed (DBT-I) dicussion and acitivties to building your coping skills. We will focus on four core pillars: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. Together, we will identify the triggers that disrupt your focus and systematically build a tangible toolkit to manage intense pressure, navigate emotional extremes, and accept reality as it is while actively working to change it. This evidence-based approach gives you total control over your responses, allowing you to perform at your peak even in high-stress environments that may come in daily life
Location
Virtual sessions