Welcome! I'm Tonyia Behrendt and I believe that each and every individual has the ability to heal and reach their maximum potential. I am passionate about broadening client's perspectives during challenging moments, building strength, and helping people to stay connected to their values while moving forward toward to achieve their goals. I strive to create a trusting space for clients to grow in discovering answers, navigating emotions, and foster hope. I truly believe that with therapy, a happy, healthy and fulfilled life can be achieved. I have spent time as a teacher, school counselor, school based-therapist and community therapist providing in-home intensive treatment and case management for high-risk children, teens and families. I have experience in the areas of depression, anxiety, reconciliation (with self and others), trauma and feelings of shame. My expertise continues into Learning Disabilities, ADD/ADHD, mood dysregulation and parenting. I am extensively trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Attachment Based Family Therapy (ABFT), Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Solution-Focused treatment (SFT). I became interested in counseling after teaching in elementary school for over a decade. Through that experience I realized how much I enjoy building one-on-one supportive relationships with children, families, adolescents and adults.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
In our first session together, we'll start with brief introductions, then dive into the specific challenges you're facing. This will help me create a tailored plan of treatment for us to work through in future sessions and even if you just come for one session, you are engaging in the commitment to change and for that you are so much stronger than you think!
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
My background includes former roles as an elementary educator, as well as work as a community therapist, where I provided in-home intensive treatment and case management for high-risk children, teens, and families. With my natural optimism and down-to-earth practicality approach, I aim to empower individuals to find potential and possibilities within their own lives.
Describe the client(s) you are best positioned to serve.
I believe each and everyone of us has a unique story, and I value the opportunity to learn yours. I assist clients' by teaching and providing tools using evidence based solution- focused approaches. Together, let’s create a meaningful life by identifying and prioritizing the values, goals and relationships that matter most to you. If you find that you are struggling with finding your place, affected by trauma, self-harm, depression, shame, or anxiety, struggling with parenting and needing support it would be an honor to walk alongside you in your journey of healing, reclaiming joy, resilience, and wellbeing together.
About Tonyia Behrendt
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VirtualMy treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
CBT treatment involves efforts to change thinking patterns and efforts to change behavioral patterns. This can include learning how to recognize distortions in current thinking that are creating problems, and how to reevaluate them. Gain a better understanding of the behavior and motivation of others. Use of problem-solving skills to cope with difficult situations and learning to develop a greater sense of confidence in one’s own abilities. In addition to learning to calm one’s mind and relax one’s body, along with strategies to prepare for potentially problematic interactions with others.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a type of psychotherapy that teaches you skills to cope with difficult emotions. During DBT sessions, I will work with you to resolve contradictions using this fundamental principle of dialectics. DBT is a subtype of Cognitive- Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Both types of therapy are talk therapy designed to help you better understand your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
Motivational Interviewing
Motivational Interviewing is a person-centered, non-confrontational counseling technique that prompts behavior change. With Motivational Interviewing can help others find the motivation to change behavior. I use this motivational approach to guide clients in the process of deciding for themselves how to live their best life.
Solution Focused Brief Treatment
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy is a short-term goal-focused evidence-based therapeutic approach, which incorporates positive psychology principles and practices. This treatment method can help clients make desired changes by constructing solutions rather than focusing on problems.
Attachment-based
I have been trained in Attachment-based family therapy (ABFT) which is a family therapy model specifically designed to target family and individual processes that suggest adolescent and young adult internalizing disorders (e.g., depression, suicide, trauma, anxiety) can be precipitated, exacerbated or buffered against by the quality of interpersonal relationships in families. It is also used where family conflict is a contributor to the presenting problem. It is a trust-based, emotion-focused psychotherapy model that aims to repair interpersonal ruptures and rebuild an emotionally protective, secure-based parent–child relationship.