Dr. Kelly Sobczak

LMHC

In my personal life, I believe it is imperative for people to live as authentically to their values as is possible and to utilize their strengths to accomplish their goals and find a sense of meaning. I have had to do a lot of work on these concepts myself, especially working to be more gentle with myself, emphasize what is important to me versus what others prioritize or want from me, and deconstructing the impact of my life experiences to live beyond them the best I can. I value my personal relationships, balance, focusing on my strengths, and focusing on what I can do versus what I can't in situations beyond my control. As a counselor, much of my approach revolves around my clients' personal values and strengths to assist them in defining the things that create meaning and purpose in their lives and inform their personal identity. Through understanding this, clients are more clearly able to establish a vision of what they would like their lives to look like and how to take steps to get there. We accomplish this through infusing concepts of self-compassion, self-advocacy, psychoeducation about personal rights, assistance with accessing community resources, DBT skills training, strengths-based solution-focused therapy, and trauma-informed therapies such as EMDR when appropriate.

Creating a treatment plan is a collaborative task between my clients and I. In our first session together, following the intake assessment, we work together to identify areas to be focused on in therapy and develop specific goals and objectives to help you get to where you want to be. We discuss what you have already worked on or are doing well at, what you'd like to improve on, and how you feel you might be able to do that. I offer guidance on the kinds of goals and therapeutic approaches that may be clinically appropriate for you. After that session, I take all of the notes from our discussion and write the official treatment plan document. Treatment plans can be updated as often as needed to accommodate changes in therapeutic goals and progress on existing goals.

Over half of my clients have Medicaid coverage, and it is nearly impossible to find therapists who work in my areas of specialization and also accept Medicaid plans. As a result, there are more clients than there are therapists to help them. My goal with Refuge Counseling is to provide specialty care to the underserved by focusing on those who would not otherwise be able to access needed specialized mental healthcare. Many of my clients are also disabled or need formal accommodations at work, school, and at home. I have experience assisting them in accessing necessary supports in these environments, including IEPs and 504 Plans, FMLA, state disability reports, emotional support animal assessments, surgery/procedure readiness assessments, and coordination of care with other providers (medical doctors, psychiatrists, dietitians, skills coaches, school administrators, and others).