LPC, 5 years of experience
New to Grow
My name is James Fetner, and I am a Licensed Professional Counselor. I work with children, teens, and young adults, though in this virtual space I am only looking to work with teens and older (this may change). I graduated with a Master's of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in 2019 and have been practicing since, except during a year and a half period where I was unable to work due to long-Covid. I specialize in addressing trauma, depression, anxiety, anger, and ADHD. If you read my who bio and think I may be a good fit but these are not your areas of need, or you have one or more of these in addition to another diagnosis that I have less, but still some, experience with (bipolar, substance use, OCD, etc), feel free to reach out anyway to discuss or schedule an intake if you like. I mentioned my chronic health issues related to long-Covid not because it interrupted my career, but because it informs it as well, including things I knew in my head but understand on a deeper level due to experiencing it: healing happens at different paces for different people, some people have harder barriers in the way of change and growth than others, and it's important to celebrate the small achievements along the way to the major ones.
Our first session may be a bit awkward, or you may quickly feel some sort of connection with me/affinity towards me, or maybe both. But know that while I will do my best to keep the conversation as natural feeling as I can, the first session involves a lot of information-gathering on my part and information-providing from you. But expect to get some of an idea of what a regular session looks and feels like during the intake session.
One strength that I have when working with those younger than I am is that I remember what it was like to be that age. I think that many adults forget what it was like to be young, both the good and the bad. At the same time, I also know that my experiences and yours are not necessarily the same. People are both unique individuals and members of groups they identify with, and even within the group there is so much diversity of experiences, points of view, etc. I don't need to have gone through everything you've been through to empathize and to help you as your therapist. I'd add that a strong sense of empathy is one of my greatest strengths, but I'd hope that is true for every therapist on this site.
My ideal client is someone who wants to grow, heal, change, understand themselves better, etc. That's all. Don't fully know what needs to change? Lets explore and find that out together! Not sure what you want to work towards? Lets talk it out and find them! Not sure how to talk about what wrong? I will do by best to help you find the vocabulary, offer a safe space to explore feelings and open up, and help you identify coping skills that will help you in session and in your daily life. And if you aren't sure you want to change, grow, heal, etc? Well, maybe it's not ideal, but I can work with that too.
At the core of my therapeutic approach is empowering you, the client, to make changes, grow, heal, etc.
CBT provides a lot of helpful tools, frameworks, and knowledge that I've found to be helpful for and with clients, things that clients can use in their day to day and to grow, heal, and change.
I primarily use TF-CBT with children and teens in a directive manner, but it also informs my work with adults when necessary, helping prepare them to discuss their trauma, not just jumping into the deep end.