Natasha Patterson

Licensed Professional Counselor

The first session will be an evaluation session where I will get to know you and I'll tell you about my background. I will ask questions to better understand why you came to therapy. We will discuss the structure of the sessions. I'll ask you to identify the goals you want to achieve while in therapy. You and I will collaborate on making an Action Plan and treatment plan. At the end of the session, I'll provide a summary of the session and elicit feedback from you. The evaluation session helps build a foundation for the next sessions

I believe there are several key components to a therapeutic relationship; an emotional/mutual bond of trust, caring, and respect; agreement on the goals of therapy; and collaboration on the "work" or tasks of the treatment.

It was a long road to becoming a therapist. My journey started in August 1999 when I first saw Dr. Phil on the Oprah Winfrey show. The show was about forgiveness, and at that time, I was working on forgiving my dad because he did not raise my sister and me. While on my forgiveness journey, it sparked an interest in psychology. As years passed, my interest grew. In 2004, I decided to apply to a Southwestern Illinois Community College where I majored in psychology. After a year of attending college, my significant other passed away; we both attended the same community college. I could no longer attend the same school. Three years had passed, and I decided to go back to school, and I would not stop until I graduated. I applied to Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville, where I received my Bachelor of Science in Psychology. Before graduating, I learned my older sister was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia; this inspired me to go further in school because I wanted to learn everything about schizophrenia to better help, my sister. My family knew little about schizophrenia and believed my sister would return to her “old” self. I had to tell them my sister has a new reality now, and I urged them to educate themselves about schizophrenia. I am very passionate and love what I do, and although I know I can’t help everyone, I will definitely try my best.