Claire Robinson Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associate

Claire Robinson, Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associate, A20024 is practicing under the supervision of Kelly Wedell (North Carolina, LCMHC-S, S3897) at Mending Roots Healing Center.

Please, note: A clinician listed as being “clinically supervised” is completing clinical hours toward their licensure. They have one or more fully licensed clinical supervisors that often have special training. They consult with their supervisor(s) on all of their cases.

As someone in the LGBTQIA+ community myself, I draw upon my own experiences as well as those of my friends and community. I also supplement my lived experience as a genderfluid, demisexual, and queer person with trainings to ensure a broad scope of understanding as it relates to supporting my clients. I also have personal and professional experience with highly sensitive people, ethical non-monogamy/polyamory, and adult children of alcoholics and dysfunctional families, among others. I am continuously learning and growing myself and in the knowledge I have of the systems we live within, people, and the patterns we often bring into our connection with all of it.

One of my therapists asked me several years ago whether I had considered being a therapist. I had not, and things just fell into place from there! I believe everyone could use some extra support sometimes. I also believe we all have things in our past that have impacted us and would be helpful to process. I became a counselor because we all deserve to be held in our big emotions as life changes and as we sort things out. The world is intense these days, and I certainly need that sometimes! I hope I can be that person for you. I also believe that when we move through our emotions and our traumas, each of us has such a capacity for growth and beauty that we don't often live out in our lives. I hope to hold my clients through the intensity of their now, so they can see and start the next chapter of their lives.

The connection with your counselor is the most important part of the process! If you're not feeling connected, then keep looking until you find a better fit. If something your counselor is doing isn't working for you, speak up and let them know! Hopefully they also give you options and check in with you to see how things are going and whether anything needs to shift to meet your needs. If they cannot provide you what you're looking for, then they should help you find someone who can. You are a unique individual, and therapy is a process designed to be adapted to meet your unique needs. If your therapist isn't doing that, then maybe it's time to explore elsewhere. I know the search for a counselor can be difficult because I have been there many times myself. Please reach out if you have any questions! I would love to connect and see if we might be a good fit to begin a counseling journey together.

The world is intense right now, isn’t it? I imagine you might be feeling tense, stuck, lonely, overwhelmed, ashamed, worried, sad, anxious, or any other number of feelings. Or maybe you just feel numb or not sure what you’re feeling anymore. That’s okay. All of you is welcome here. I’m here to support you wherever you are, working together to explore your world and where to go from here. Whether it be the systems we live in, events from your past or present, the patterns inside you, connections in your life, or something else that brings you here, we will explore next steps together. My counseling style integrates many different elements. I am person-centered, where I seek to understand your experience from your perspective, and use multicultural counseling, where I consider the systems that impact your life. I am trauma-focused, trained in EMDR therapy and acute stress modalities to support you in moving through trauma, whether it be acute, ongoing, or long past. I also have a somatic focus, inviting your body’s responses into the session, and an attachment-based lens, looking at how your early relationships influence how you relate to others now. I also intentionally add in techniques of other evidence-based practices as needed, such as mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy. In the counseling room, this can look many different ways. It all starts with connection, so I can get your world and see what techniques might be supportive in our work together. I may ask about your identities and how our world and its systems influence you, how your body is feeling, events from your past that keep reappearing in the present, or what your relationships were like growing up. That said, this is a collaborative process, so you get to decide what works for you! I work with adults of all ages and some teens as well. I enjoy working with those in the LGBTQIA+ community, especially those who are gender expansive, because I am queer and genderfluid myself! I also have experience supporting neurodiverse people; individuals struggling with anxiety or grief; and people going through personal, spiritual, vocational, and relational transitions.