LPC, 18 years of experience
My name is Suzanne Elia-Hoyes. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), National Board Certified Counselor (NCC), and Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). Over the last 24 years, I have worked as a professional school counselor, a licensed professional counselor in a school setting and private practice, and a BCBA. These roles have allowed me to respond to the needs of diverse individuals, including those considered “at-risk” and those with special needs, through the primary interventions of individual and small-group counseling.
It is important to establish trust and rapport with my clients from the start. My primary objective in a therapeutic relationship is connecting with clients in a way that creates a climate of trust. Deeping the therapeutic relationship through trust and an empathetic connection begins with the first session.
I emphasize counseling goals that are tailored to the unique needs of the client. I focus on building a therapeutic relationship so that my clients can make personal growth and improve their mental and emotional well-being.
Being a LPC and BCBA allows me to help individuals develop skills and abilities to improve their lives. I have an understanding of mental health and addressing emotional and mental health disorders through counseling and applying the principles of behavior to change behavior.
I am committed to helping people feel safe and restore their sense of self-worth and power. I value the therapeutic alliance and aim to collaborate and communicate with my clients to reach their goals. Through open questions, affirmations, reflection, and summarizing, I believe that I can help my clients build trust and "buy in" to process of making meaningful changes.
Using cognitive and behavior therapy, I help people find healthy ways to think about situations that affect their feelings and behavior. I also use practical strategies to assist people in improving the quality of their lives. Treatment approaches will depend on the issues being treated, but the basic idea is that what people think can affect how they feel and behave.
I believe that you are doing the best in any given moment and may need to practice new skills to help you do better in all areas of your life. I am committed to teaching you how to use skills during troble spots and during times of difficulties. I am committed to helping you work the skills so that the skills will work in your life.
I am a certified clinical trauma professional focused on building science-based tools for hope and skills building. Healing trauma is not easy, but teaching clients to relax their bodies in the context of a perceived threat can heal traumatic stress.
I am a certified mindfulness informed professional (CMIP) and have the skills needed to implement effective and practical mindfulness practices in my work with clients.