I began my journey to being a therapist while I was on staff at a church, where I served to oversee the community care ministries there. In this capacity, I found myself falling more and more in the role of a counselor, working with parishioners through various life issues. When it was time to go back to school to begin my graduate work, I decided to forego my plans of obtaining a theological degree, and instead chose to pursue a degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. Though I still have a great love for theology, I have found that walking alongside others as a therapist to be my true life’s calling.
Before I had even started with the church, I had already gained a strong respect for the therapeutic process, having struggled in my own life and finding that having a therapist was immensely helpful to me on my own life journey. And the work I was doing in the church had taught me about the nature of life, and the various ways in which people suffer. This time in the church also taught me about how people grow through that suffering, and I decided that helping others to navigate these difficulties would become my life’s work. Since embarking on this path, I have had the profound pleasure and privilege of working alongside a great many diverse people through myriad issues and problems. But each of these people have also impacted me in profound ways and have helped me to become the person that I am today, for which I am very thankful. There is something I find very sacred in this.
As far as my approach to therapy, I begin with the singular foundation that all human life, regardless of circumstance, is of infinite value, and that every life is inherently meaningful. Everything else hinges on that conviction. My goal is to help my clients, no matter where their starting point, to find meaning and purpose in their lives, and to grow through present suffering and hardship in a way that allows them to live fully and authentically.
At the center of my professional practice, is my faith in God, which informs me of how I go about the work of therapy. I utilize a combination of approaches in therapy, including existential, attachment, and cognitive based approaches. I am a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTPI), and have experience working with those suffering anxiety, depression, PTSD, addictions, personality disorders, grief and loss issues, as well as experience working with conflicted couples and families.
If you are ready to embark on the next step of your journey, please visit my website to book a free 15-minute consultation at www.vanguardcounseling.com, or call me directly at (256) 212-0109.
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.” – Viktor Frankl
If there is one thing in life that is guaranteed, it is that each of us will experience significant challenges at different points in our lives. Whether these challenges are foreseen, unforeseen, put upon us by others, or even the product of our own doing, these challenges can often seem overwhelming, and can even be outright debilitating. We may experience feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, fear, anxiety, or depression. We may experience hardship in our relationships which further feed these unpleasant feelings, and can cause us to feel alone and isolated, leading to further feelings of smallness and insignificance. And sometimes, we may even feel as if life is not worth living at all.
But amid these challenges remains the light of hope, whether we are able to see it or not. To see it, we may be forced to change the way we look at life and our situation, to find new sources of personal strength and empowerment, and to reevaluate the ways we ascribe meaning to the present. This is by no means an easy feat, but it is something that we are all capable of as meaning-making beings. And when we are able to find meaning and purpose, even in the midst of pain and suffering, we find freedom, and we unlock the capacity to truly live well.
I want to invite you into this life-changing process, and to encourage you to walk the path before you with confidence in the hope of something better; to reconnect with your true self with acceptance and compassionate understanding. I invite you to say “YES” to life and to living well.
To request an appointment or a free 15-minute consultation, please visit my website at www.vanguardcounseling.com, or call me directly at (256) 212-0109.
