New to Grow
I am a licensed professional counselor and a mother of two grown children and one grandson. Teaching was my first career and counseling is my second career. I am a empathetic, client-centered therapist who is action-oriented. I teach my clients how to discover alternatives and solutions to their problems. I want my clients to feel that I am really helping them with targeted treatments, and I want them to feel extremely at ease with me and be able to trust me. My goal is for them to improve over time and not feel that they are wasting their time in therapy.
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
In the first session, I will allow clients to share their reason for being in therapy. I will take notes and employ motivational interviewing techniques. You and I will collaborate to create long-term and short-term goals and I will explain treatment options. By the end of the session, I hope that you will feel comfortable talking to me, and I will have a good understanding of your needs.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
Due to my age, I have encountered a variety of life experiences, and I have experienced some difficult times. I can use my maturity and wisdom to help clients. My therapeutic approach is always client-centered, and my passion is to help people feel better about themselves and their goals. Sometimes I use humor in my sessions.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
I am best positioned to serve adolescents to older adults. Clients need to be able to be focused on the therapy sessions when they occur, with being able to communicate directly and without distractions. I work well with clients who are open-minded without being resistant to change. Clients need to be willing to do mini-homework assignments where they can report back to me and share how the assignments went.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Cognitive behavioral therapy is shown to be beneficial to decrease depression and anxiety symptoms by identifying unhelpful thoughts that lead to negative behaviors. Once the client learns the cognitive distortions in the unhelpful cognitions, he learns to bring the distortions to light as false and replace the negative distortions with truth. Once the truth is revealed, clients with depression experience hope, and those with anxiety find peace and relief.
Christian Counseling
For those who are open to Christian counseling, clients learn from Bible verses and Bible stories to apply Christian concepts to their personal lives. Clients are often given scripture packets to help them in times of depression, anxiety, and ptsd.
Couples Counseling
In couples counseling, couples learn about one another's needs and beliefs; direct and indirect communication patterns; how to communicate more effectively; and how to resolve conflicts in a healthy manner
Motivational Interviewing
Motivational interviewing is a non-judgmental, empathetic, client-centered approach to help the clients find their own reasons and motivation to change behaviors, especially when they are ambivalent. The therapist uses open-ended questions to guide clients to explore their own values, instead of the therapist's imposing values or suggesting motivations.
Grief Therapy
Grief therapy is designed to help clients understand their grief by learning about the grief process and the stages of grief. Clients learn that people don't always grief the same way, and the complete grieving process is different for everyone. Clients learn about their grief by talking about the loss and the grief or by writing in a journal and sharing the journal in session. Grief is not always limited to the death of a person; losses can be surrounding the death of a pet, loss of a job, and the loss of a relationship.