Therapists

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I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, (LCSW) in private practice. My Master's degree is from the University of Texas at Arlington. I have special training in Critical Incident Response, and EMDR. I specialize in working with trauma victims. My experience includes work in abuse and neglect, acute trauma, crisis intervention, stress management, family conflict, depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. 

I have practiced Clinical counseling in a private setting since Jan 2000, working with families, adults, children and adolescents. Prior to that, I worked in an agency supervising and working with populations in the following programs: family preservation, foster care/adoption, residential youth care, maternity home and “mom and me program”, services to at risk youth in the community and a day care center. Other experience over the last 21 years has included: Crisis Intervention/Counseling with youth and families, the Chronically mentally ill, Grief Counseling, and Counseling on Medical issues. I have also developed and worked treatment plans with families and children age 0-21 (children with Autism, Downs Syndrome, Developmentally delayed and behaviorally challenged.). Professional Activities have included: Presented at the 1993 NASW/Texas Conference - Accepted to speak 1995 AAMR/Texas Conference; Training and Consultation all over Texas on “Permanency Planning in Texas for Children with DD”: Served on Community Partnerships in my community and Developed and Chaired a Social Service Subcommittee in my community. I am a Professional member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), and a Member of EMDRIA.

I use a collaborative approach in which we work together to resolve the problems and issues that are standing in the way of you moving forward in your life as you would like to. Sometimes this is a matter of learning new skills, such as assertiveness, communication skills, or learning ways to deal with emotions. You may be repeating old patterns that you want to change; you may feel stuck. Sometimes you may need to unload 'baggage' from your past that you are still carrying around. This may be losses from last year or bad experiences from your childhood - in either case, unless dealt with, they can continue to affect you years later in the form of low self-esteem, depression, or anxiety. You may also have problems due to the fact that you missed out on some important things in your early life. I use traditional talk therapy. In addition, I like to work in ways, which have been found to be particularly effective at facilitating healing and growth. One such method is EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), which is a psychological method for treating experientially based disorders and emotional difficulties that are caused by disturbing life experiences ranging from traumatic events such as combat stress, assaults, and natural disaster to upsetting childhood events. EMDR is a complex method that brings together elements form well established clinical theoretical orientations including psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioral, and client centered. You can read more about it at http://www.emdr.com/ EMDR entails an eight phase approach guided by an information processing model that views pathology as based upon perceptual information that has been maladaptively stored. Consequently, EMDR treatment focuses on the perceptual components of the memory (affective, cognitive, and somatic) in order to expedite the accessing and processing of disturbing events and facilitate a an attendant learning process. More specifically, EMDR aims to (a)facilitate resolution of memories of earlier life experiences ( e.g. elicitation of insight, cognitive reorganization, adaptive affects, and psychological responses), (b)desensitize stimuli that trigger present distress as a result of second-order conditioning and (c) incorporate adaptive attitudes, skills and desired behaviors for enhanced future functioning. Whichever approach is utilized we strive for you to move towards a balance between the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of your being.

My approach to counseling is client centered and solution focused. I believe it is extremely important that rapport and trust is established in the initial stages of counseling. I want my clients to feel that they can be completely open and honest with me about their feelings, insecurities, anxieties, fears, goals, etc. In return, they can expect to receive honest and direct feedback from me in helping them reach their therapeutic goals. Together with my client, we will identify the issues contributing to the client’s state of discontent. We will then establish goals for treatment, and immediately begin the healing process. 

My experience includes work in child counseling, divorce & family mediation, abuse and neglect, grief counseling, crime victims, crisis intervention, stress management, family conflict, depression, anxiety, assertiveness & self-esteem, phobias and several others. I have specialized training in Critical Incident Response, Pre-Marital Counseling, Hypnosis, and EMDR. I focus on working with couples on marriage and relationships. I believe that it is very important to begin a long-lasting marriage with pre-marital counseling. This is often an area that is neglected. Many couples invest months planning every detail of the wedding itself, but invest very little in preparing for the next 50 to 60 years together that come after the wedding. I will help couples examine several different aspects of their relationship that are vital to the success of a long-lasting and happy marriage. 

My counseling approach is Christian-based. I believe that the spiritual part of an individual’s life is integral to their overall contentment. Therefore, I will focus on 8 parts of the whole self which include: spiritual, biological, environmental, mission/identity, skills, behavior/actions, values/goals and beliefs. This is much like an 8 cylinder engine. When one cylinder is not working properly, it affects the whole engine. Likewise, when one of the 8 parts of the self is not working properly, it affects the whole self.  

I have been married since 1989 and have 3 children. My oldest two children are my stepsons whom I have raised since they were three and six years old and are now adults and have families of their own. My youngest child is a daughter who is now in her 30's and a mother of four children including a set of twins. The personal experience of being part of a blended family has given me first hand knowledge of the trials and triumphs many families deal with in providing a stable, happy home for their children.

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor. My Master’s degree is from Southeastern Oklahoma University with additional graduate work from Texas A&M Commerce. I have been in private practice since March 2003. Prior to that I was a school counselor for 9 years. I am a member of Texas Counseling Association.

I have held seminars and classes in mediation, crisis management, depression, communication, parenting skills, teen issues and stress management. I am trained in Critical Incident Response and I am a trained mediator. I was the Crisis Management Director in public school. In addition, I have worked with emotionally disturbed youth, written and directed grants to help teenagers. 

I see clients ages 12 through all stages of adulthood. I specialize in depression, anxiety, bipolar, grief and bereavement, eating disorders and the stress that can come from life changes in adults and teens. I feel strongly that the world puts pressure on our teens and that parents are often at a loss as how to respond. I enjoy working with teens and their parents to help bridge that difficult time in a teen’s life.

I was married for 38 years to my high school sweetheart before he passed away in 2011, and have two adult children. I am very family oriented and feel that the family is a foundation that needs to be nurtured and strengthened. My experience brings knowledge and sensitivity to many issues that face families today.  

I have an eclectic approach that utilizes traditional talk therapy and integrate other methods depending on the individual needs. I believe it is important to move towards a balance between the emotional, mental, physical and spiritual aspects of your life. In sight and self-awareness can help you move in a direction to gain this balance. I think the relationship between client and therapist is very important and I will seek to establish that with each client so that you know I listen with my head and my heart. I believe that therapy is a collaborative effort between client and therapist and I will be honest and open with you.