Therapists in Morgantown, WV

Therapy is a collaborative process where one can explore their thoughts, behaviors and emotions and how those can have an impact on our mental health, interpersonal relationships, and overall daily functioning. There is a power in embracing vulnerability and learning to accept oneself and identify areas where one may want to improve to get where they want to be. I enjoy helping my clients to make meaningful connections and navigate the challenges that life tends to throw at us.

The longest journey begins with a single step and I am grateful to walk that path with you. It can be frightening and intimidating to begin the process of therapy; however, that experience can help you to make the changes that lead to a happier and more fulfilled life. Through a collaborative and safe relationship I establish with my clients, progress and change is made. Areas of practice include mood disorders, anxiety, depression, relationship challenges, men's concerns, and ADHD and cognitive functioning (including testing services). I also enjoy working with clients from adolescents to seniors.

“Midway along the journey of our life I woke to find myself in a dark wood, for I had wandered off from the straight path." This sentence encapsulates the feelings many clients bring to therapy, the culmination of years of existential angst, an accumulation of guilt, anxiety, loss, among a myriad of other experiences which have inflicted pain and suffering. My experience working with clients in exploring their unique symptoms, be it depression, anxiety, etc., is to not rush headlong into an immediate remedy of the symptoms, rather the exploration of how these symptoms may be trying to inform in new ways of approaching life.

Michael Rucker is a clinically trained marriage and family therapist and has been in practice for over a decade in Charleston, WV and Morgantown, WV. He has worked with a broad population of clients, including individuals, couples, families, children, teenagers, and groups. His passion and life experiences has led to an interest and specialization with a myriad of topic areas that he excels with, including but not limited to infidelity, infertility, mood disorders (depression and anxiety), trauma, obsessive-compulsive disorder, learning disabilities, addiction, marital issues, and divorce adjustment.

Therapy is a joint effort of two people to make significant changes in a person's life. I am coming in to session as an expert on change and you are the expert on yourself and the ideal life you want to live. Together we will work to find out what changes you would like to make in your life, and most importantly, how to get you there.

I find it important to meet people where they are in life. Taking the steps towards healing and change is not easy. Exploring values and identifying barriers gives a path towards the things you may want in life. My favorite question to ask is “What do YOU want?”, followed by my second which is “What are YOU doing to get there?” With those two questions you and

The process of asking for help can be truly frightening. Sometimes it’s difficult asking a simple request, like a ride to work, or asking someone to listen to you when you’re stressed. Therapy can be a step in improving that relationship with yourself, and to help you know your feelings and experiences are valid. A lot of life is adapting to our environments, often to keep ourselves safe, but sometimes those learned behaviors have long-term effects on our ability to understand our needs and others.

AT STILLWATER, WE PROVIDE COUNSELING, CONSULTING AND ASSESSMENT SERVICES FOR CHILDREN, ADOLESCENTS AND ADULTS. It is our desire to restore, maintain and increase the health and wellbeing of individuals through evidence-based practice, integrating conventional, holistic and faith-based approaches. We strive to offer an approachable, contemplative and encouraging space; an environment supportive of the wellness and healing intrinsic to us all. Stillwater practitioners consider the intricacies of the emotional, cognitive, physical and spiritual self, all essential to the vitality of the whole person.

I am a clinical social worker with over twenty years of experience. I utilize an eclectic style of therapy in order to better meet the needs of my clients. I graduated from WVU with a Bachelors degree in social work, Master degree in social work, a certificate in gerontology with a minor in women's studies. My goal is to utilize my educational background and my work experience as a therapist in order to better assist those I work for.

My philosophy is simple: The mind and body is designed to heal itself, and it needs only the proper awareness and fine-tuning in order to achieve this. I use a collaborative, eclectic approach that draws from many disciplines including, but not limited to psychodynamics, attachment theory, cognitive-behavioral therapy, EMDR and other experiential modalities.

At Happiness Hill Counseling Services, I offer quality mental and behavioral health therapy for adolescents and adults, with a focus in the treatment of substance use issues. By utilizing a variety of therapeutic interventions, I offer services that allow clients and their families to overcome the stresses and challenges of life to improve their daily functioning.

Most people have a natural drive to be independent and self-sustaining. The truth is life is not always easy and it can be difficult to be vulnerable with others. When people use their courage and bravery to reach out, I have nothing but admiration for them. In the dark times of life, we need a place where we can feel understood, genuinely cared about, and supported. I believe that every person is unique, and everyone has different needs. Some times life's difficulties take more time then we would like but I am there to go through it all with you.

My ideal client is looking for something more. They are lost in what feels like nothing more than a bunch of rules and rigidity that has never really served them well. Their goals are to feel fulfilled, but they are lost as to how to achieve that. They have tried the rules and only come up empty handed. They were taught that happiness is the only acceptable emotion to feel and that if they feel anything else that something is wrong with them. That makes life so limiting, and I want to show them another way that allows them too actually live fulfilled. My ideal client is looking for meaning, purpose, and peace beyond the rules.