Specialties
Women's Mental Health Concerns
- 1 out of 5 women in the U.S. experience mental health concerns that can be treated. Everyday circumstances can pile up to the point they become serious causes of depression, anxiety, stress, physical health issues, unhappy relationships, and poor self-image.
- Common factors:
- Changes in thought patterns or feeling hopeless
- Stress-induced physical ailments: heart issues, headaches, anxiety
- Physical and emotional outcomes of chronic relationship problems
Life Changes
- Over a life span every person encounters the challenges that each stage of development brings. We cannot always know how life will turn out, but we can encourage an environment for positive human flourishing.
- Socioemotional development
- Cognitive development through the lifetime
- Resilience through divorce, career changes, retirement or grief
Eating Disorders
- Although our culture continues to encourage all people to fit into the norms of societal acceptance there is a strong movement for greater self-acceptance, personal awareness, and body positivity. With the purpose of rewiring thoughts, feelings, and emotions toward
- more positive actions and reactions, it is also possible to become attuned to positive body image through
- Mindfulness
- Self-compassion
- Values
- Critical thinking
Faith-Based Growth and Flourishing
- When there is greater understanding of self, one has more freedom to determine the next actions they will take. Whether a person is motivated by their faith or by the desire for more life satisfaction, human flourishing has been a focal point of happiness for centuries.
- Through spiritual beliefs a Christian counselor can use the fruit of the Spirit and other biblical values to approach the ebbs and flows of life. Interestingly, both psychologically and theologically confront all people with deep questions like
- Who am I?
- Why am I like this?
- What is the answer
- How will I change
Pre-Marital Counseling SYMBUS and Prepare/Enrich Certified
The SYMBUS premarital report helps couples evaluate specific areas of personal lifestyles like mindset, wellbeing, level of social support, finances, expectations, blended families, and dynamics. The SYMBUS Assessment is designed to get marriages started in the right direction.Prepare/Enrich offers customized assessments to match with each couple’s stage and structure of relationship. Whether you’re looking for premarital counseling or ways to enhance your relationships Prepare/Enrich uses content and process to encourage more healthy relationships.
Trauma Counseling
Trauma, emotional, and psychological pain can come from events other than those we associate with post-traumatic stress disorder, such as abandonment, abuse, bullying, the death of a loved one, domestic violence, injury, job loss, neglect, and natural disasters. Skills to relieve traumatic stress:
- Relaxation
- Self-regulation
- Cognitive processing
- Exposure
Substance Use
Despite the harmful effects of drug and alcohol use: problems at home, work, in relationships, with the law, or at school, someone with substance use disorder may try to change the behavior but remain unsuccessful. Co-occurring mental health disorders can complicate the recovery process. Therapies that are recommended are:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Solution Focused Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
Grief
- After any type of great loss, the grieving process brings healing. Although it is common to avoid the intense emotional pain of loss, grief changes the brokenness of a hurting soul. Avoidance is a natural reaction to pain and is supported by our culture. It is not often that we are taught to grieve. Most people do not have a model for grief when they need it. Grief is a part of life that is unavoidable, and you do not have to walk through your grief alone. The most known stages of grief therapy are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Recently a sixth stage has been added, finding meaning after loss. The pivot point in grief is when hope and healing begin, and new pathways are open.