Office Manager
Office Assistant
I respect the client's current emotional state and provide a safe, secure environment for our sessions. I also listen to client needs in an empathic, nonjudgmental way. Counseling techniques can vary based on the client's emotional and mental state, age, issue(s), goals and time restraints.
Specialties include substance abuse, trauma, grief, anger management, anxiety, depression, as well as marriage and family issues. We also offer outpatient substance abuse groups to those wanting/needing a supplement to individual sessions.
Our agency offers a multifaceted team of therapists with various specialties to meet the needs of children, adolescents, adults, as well a geriatric clients.
Are you looking for a way...To develop stronger family and/or marital relationships? To heal from past trauma or other psychological issues? To determine the best parenting approach for your adolescent's personality and behavioral challenges? To get support for drug or alcohol related problems? If so, I would welcome the opportunity to work with you!
I am a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) and a licensed clinical addiction specialist (LCAS) with over 20 years of experience in the helping professions. I specialize in marital, trauma, child/adolescent behavioral disorders, substance abuse, and a wide range of adult psychological issues.
I am a Level II EMDR trained therapist for the treatment of PTSD. I provide supervision for provisionally licensed therapists as an Approved Supervisor through the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). I am also a licensed school counselor with experience in school related behavioral issues in children.
My perspective on therapy is to empower people to overcome personal obstacles and improve upon their overall quality of life. My passion comes from seeing people work through hardships and struggles with therapy and other life changes. I use clinically tested and evidence based interventions, along with my experience in the field of counseling and addictions counseling. Theories and techniques utilized include: cognitive behavioral strategies; motivational interviewing, reality therapy techniques, relapse prevention, harm reduction model, Christian/faith based techniques and 12-step model.
I have worked in community settings, in-patient treatment settings, out-patient, forensics, and opioid treatment. I have also presented on issues related to substance abuse and domestic violence to the Carolina Panthers organization; as well as community outreach through a “Time Warner Cable In-Depth” series on substance abuse. I received my Master’s in Counseling and Community Psychology with a certificate in Forensic psychology. I am currently a Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist (LCAS) in the state of North Carolina. I offer adolescent substance abuse counseling, adult substance abuse counseling, DWI assessment/treatment, and substance abuse assessments.
Each person is unique and presents with his or her own concerns and counseling needs. I will tailor my approach with you based on the information you provide and my clinical assessment. We will collaborate to establish your treatment goals. I understand that counseling is a very personal experience, and it is important that you feel comfortable to discuss your thoughts and feelings with me in an environment that is safe, accepting and non-judgmental. I specialize in working with adults, adolescents and children who have depression, anxiety, trauma, substance abuse issues, anger management problems, and a wide range of other psychological and behavioral concerns. My therapy approach integrates cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), person-centered therapy (PCT), and Motivational Interviewing. I also incorporate dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) techniques to help clients regulate emotions, improve mindfulness and build interpersonal relationship skills. I am a Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) clinician and can use TF-CBT to help treat children ages 3-18 who have PTSD. I am also trained in Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), an evidenced-based treatment for adults with PTSD.
I believe that taking care of your mental health is an important part of ensuring you are living life to the fullest. Mental health can be confusing for children and that is something that I like to help children overcome. I am passionate about broadening my clients’ perspectives in life and helping them reach their goals.
I enjoy working with children and adolescents. I have worked with school aged children from kindergarten to seniors in high school and loves to engage parents or caregivers as well as their entire family unit along the way. I believe that building a relationship with the whole family is important in helping children overcome challenges and reach their goals.
I have experience working with children and families at a Child Advocacy Center, working as a school social worker, and now a student assistance program coordinator in the public-school system. I specialize in depression, anxiety, behavior disorders, trauma, and grief. I have a passion for implementing evidence-based techniques as well as client-centered and solution focused.
I graduated from Western Carolina University with my bachelors in Social Work and Winthrop University with my Masters in Social work. I am now a Licensed Clinical Social Worker Associate.
It's possible that you're unsure exactly what you would like to address in counseling, that's not a problem, we can explore this question in session and find achievable goals together. Any client struggling with the following issues will likely benefit from my counseling services: anxiety, depression, trauma, addiction, identity, autonomy, emotions, purpose, relationships, shame, grief, hopelessness, boundaries, communication, loneliness, spirituality and more. As a counselor I create a space for emotional and mental exploration of any life situation for individuals, couples, adolescents, and children. Establishing trust and creating a safe, judgment free, counseling relationship is very important and will allow us to explore various concerns. If you can identify with some of the issues listed above, and imagine the services mentioned would be beneficial, please reach out to begin the intake process. I look forward to getting to know you and offering counseling services that are empathetic and achieve realistic solutions. I have experience both in residential and outpatient therapy, working with individuals, couples, and families and am active as an NBCC certified clinical trainer. In my work with clients, I implement interventions from a number of evidenced based therapeutic approaches including Internal Family Systems (IFS), Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Motivational Interviewing (MI). Each treatment plan is tailored to the client, considering the most effective interventions based on the presenting concerns.