Hi, I am a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor with over 23 years of experience in a community-based setting. I have 1-2 years experience in a private practice setting and my scope of practice includes expertise in depression anxiety trauma family conflict and ADHD. It also includes expertise in couples counseling, grief and loss, forgiveness therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and mindfulness relaxation and guided imagery.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
In our first session together, we'll start with brief greetings, then clarify the specific challenges you're facing. This will help me create a tailored plan for us to work through in follow-up sessions. I treat you as the expert on your concerns, mindfully attend to your expressions, and collaboratively work with you to find solutions suitable to your needs and wants.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
I use patience to promote trust and psychological and emotional safety so that the client feels inclined to share concerns and feelings connected. I use love of learning to share scientifically based interventions backed by research to help clients bring about beneficial change. And I use wisdom to help clients to better understand their concerns and the role they may play in contributing to the concerns.
About Charles Hankton
Appointments
Virtual
My treatment methods
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
I instruct clients to visualize their emotions, thoughts, and feelings from afar to gain perspective to reduce the power of the emotions, thoughts, and feelings. I teach clients how to use mindful meditation to notice distracting thoughts and obligations without judgment. I educate clients on how to imagine placing a distracting thought upon a leaf and visualize watching it float down a stream until it disappears.
Couples Counseling
I assist clients to take responsibility for their feelings to help improve their communication when they feel upset or angry. I help clients to practice using "I" statements to allow them to communicate what is upsetting while minimizing blaming. In addition, I aid clients in recognizing their body language tones of vice and facial expressions while using “I” statements to lessen the chances of their partner becoming defensive.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
I instruct clients on how to increase their responsiveness to the thoughts, feelings, and experiences that come and go quickly, oftentimes outside of their awareness. I help clients to gain increased understanding of what they say or do, and its connection with how they feel and the events/people that influenced them. I educate clients how to self-sooth by using their senses to help manage their emotions thoughts and/or feelings.
Trauma-Focused CBT
I educate clients about common reactions to trauma that includes re-experiencing the trauma through thoughts, feelings, and memories of fear, anger, or sadness. I help clients to recognize how they avoid trauma reminders by using drugs or alcohol to suppress uncomfortable thoughts and emotions related to their traumatic experiences. I educate clients about how physiological symptoms such as becoming irritable, quick to anger, or aggressive are typical signs experienced when faced with trauma reminders.
