What was your path to becoming a therapist? What inspired you to choose this profession?
I have always had a helping spirit and the lessons of life have given me a desire to help others through the fires that I have faced. This drove me to go back to school so i could do it in a professional way with an understanding touch.
What does a first session with you look like?
I will usually ask questions about your life and why you think you need help. Allow you ask questions to help you feel safe with me and allow us to build a strong therapeutic relationship.
Were there lessons in your professional or academic career that left an impression on you, and how has that informed your work today?
Just the changes in the generations and how the battles come much faster and in some cases never ending. I have found that the teen of today need grit that only comes with failure and able to work out the lessons in that failure.
Specialties
Addiction
Regular involvement with a substance or activity in a compulsive, hard to control way that often has harmful consequences. Often refers to substance use, but can include compulsive behaviors such as sex, gambling, or shopping.
Attachment issues
Children that experience parents and/or guardians that are avoidant, ambivalent, or resistant from an early age, may develop attachment issues. This can manifest as difficulty forming or maintaining friendships, romantic relationships and empathetic bonds throughout life, as well as other issues.
Autism spectrum disorder
A developmental disability that impacts communication and behavior. Onset typically occurs during early childhood, but an individual may be diagnosed at any point in life. Severity of the disorder varies along a spectrum. Accordingly, challenges associated with verbal and nonverbal communication, interpersonal interactions, and restricted/repetitive behaviors vary as well.
Family issues
Familial relationships can be the source of stress and emotional pain, even in the healthiest of situations. Painful interactions can range from irritation to resentment and lead to feelings of guilt, disappointment, and anger.
Parenting issues
Parenting issues involve those associated with the child-rearing process. These may include safety, discipline, nutrition, finances, childcare, school, household rules, chores, daily routines, social activities, and relationships with extended family members. Because child-rearing practices vary by culture, cultural norms must be considered.
General Expertise
Relationship Issues
Refers relationship issues with a partner or spouse. Can include issues related to relationship distress, relationship satisfaction, communication, intimacy, etc.
ADHD
ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) causes a hard time focusing attention and controlling restless or impulsive behavior. People with ADHD might have emotional outbursts, be forgetful, and/or find it difficult to stay organized.
Addiction
Regular involvement with a substance or activity in a compulsive, hard to control way that often has harmful consequences. Often refers to substance use, but can include compulsive behaviors such as sex, gambling, or shopping.
Adolescent mental health
Adolescent mental health focuses on adolescent-specific experiences including physical and cognitive development, social and environmental factors, sex, sexual identification and orientation, emotional processing, and substance use. Given the influence that parents/guardians have on adolescents, home life is a particularly important consideration.
Adoption & foster care
Adoption and foster care considerations include education on the process, integrating the new family, establishing household rules and boundaries, processing past trauma on behalf of the child, emotional health, and other adjustment procedures.
Fees
$40
First Session
$120
Family Therapy
$120
Couples Therapy
$20
Group Therapy
$80
Individual Therapy
Types of Therapy
Couples Session
Family Session
Group Session
Individual Session
Clientele
Parents
Young Adults (18-24)
Adults (25-65)
Adolescents (13-17)
Treatment Approaches / Modalities
Mindfulness Practices
Cognitive Processing Therapy
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Motivational Interviewing
Training / Certifications
Addiction training
Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinical Specialist
Licensure
GA, LPC, LPC011378
Education
Masters in Professional Counseling from Liberty University in 2014
BS in Accounting from Presbyterian College in 1984
Work History
My work experience has given me a great range to work with relationships in the family. I have work with families with big struggles to build a healthy relationship and life while working for Georgia Department of Children and Family Services. As a Placement case manager I worked with parents that had their children removed from the home to get them back into the home. I Worked with teenagers and the parents while I was a youth pastor helping them navigate the tough times in those relationships. I have dealt with addictions and the damage that they create in people and families as a Rehab counselor. In my personel life I have biological children, adopted children, and step-children giving a unique understanding of living in those relationships. I have work with teen boys that have behavior issues in the home and need help in rebuilding trust in the teen and the parent.
Location
145 Deidra Drive, Athens, 30607, GA