My name is Elizabeth and I am a licensed professional counselor (LPC) in the states of Texas and Arizona. I am also a certified school counselor and transitioned to full-time mental health counseling after working as a high school counselor. I have been working as a counselor for 9 years, primarily in the school setting. I have helped my students with issues such as family problems, academic struggles, relationship issues, trauma/abuse, ADHD, autism, LGBT-issues, depression, anxiety, perfectionism, grief, and suicidal ideation. Before working as a counselor, I was an elementary teacher for 6 years. I have experience working with adults and adolescents. I love seeing my clients understand themselves better and improve their mental health. I feel comfortable counseling people from a variety of backgrounds, especially those whose backgrounds are different than my own. My entire professional career has been spent with a primarily Hispanic population, but I am comfortable with other cultures, as well. I am a big fan of CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and Solutions-focused therapy, but I try to cater my counseling to each client, so I often incorporate different counseling philosophies as needed. I believe my clients are the experts on their own lives and I want to work with them to improve their contentment, coping skills, and mental health. I believe it is important and beneficial to have a nonjudgmental, unbiased person to talk to. This is one of the best parts of counseling. I often use humor to lighten the mood when counseling. I find this helps grow my relationships with my clients. Congratulations on making the first step towards getting help. I would love to work with you.

What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?

My first session is primarily a chance to get to know my client and understand their life and background better. This gives me a context to help them work on their therapy goals. We will talk about how therapy works and what their expectations are of the process. At the end, I like to give some thinking exercises that can help with the issue they are seeking therapy to resolve.

Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.

I am caring and good at remembering lots of random information about people. My clients feel truly known by me. I like to use humor when possible as I think it can often help to lighten the mood a bit. I have also traveled quite a bit, so I feel comfortable with many different types of people. I am good at putting myself in others' shoes.

Describe the client(s) you are best positioned to serve.

I love working with people who are willing to put in the work to improve. I can provide many great tips and tools, but I find that the clients who make the most progress are the ones who invest and try to practice the things we discuss. I have enjoyed working with clients of all ages, but my primary clients seem to be those in their 20's and 30's going through various life transitions and dealing with the anxiety and uncertainty that comes with that.

About Elizabeth Hightower Stanley

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