Therapists in Jenison, MI

I am a Licensed Master Social Worker. I earned my bachelor's degree in History from Taylor University; a Master's degree in Student Personnel Administration in Higher Education from Ball State University; and a Master's degree in Social Work from Grand Valley State University. I have over 25 years of experience working in counseling, training, higher education, non-profit administration, and financial planning. My experience as a clinical therapist, has spanned over 23 years. I enjoy working with individuals, couples, and families. My areas of expertise include depression, anxiety, addictive personalities, spiritual issues, financial issues, and cognitive restructuring.

Life can be hard at times. I am here to help you move through the challenges of life. I will work with you to make positive life changes. The resources for growth and healing lie within. My aim is to help you tap into your inner strength and move forward.

I work with individuals, couples and families to alleviate misery and increase wellbeing. MISERY - Depression. Anxiety. Family conflict. Feeling hopeless and helpless, day after day. WELLBEING - Affirmation of one’s value and worth, talents and strengths. Embracing hope. Good health. Fulfilling relationships. Everyone experiences disappointment and pain. You, though, are able to live a full and meaningful life. Embrace hope, be persistent. You will experience joy and meaning in life: “Life’s good and I’m blessed.” These are my focus and my goals for you as your counselor.

I'm passionate about providing support and compassionate counseling to individuals, couples, & families facing life-challenging crises, addictions, or illness with a heart of sincere concern. I assist clients in developing healthy life skills, resolving conflict, and accessing needed resources as they seek to fulfill their personal, family, and vocational goals. I'm experienced in a breadth of crises and family needs through years of church-based pastoral care and clinical counseling. I provide Individual, Couples, and Family Counseling, and Group Therapy. I can help address Men's Issues, Grief Support, and Conflict Mediation needs.

As a veteran, I've seen people in all forms of crises and facing all manners of difficulties in their lives. Working through marital and family crises, life transitions, career changes, severe traumas, depression, anxiety, and all manners of things was an every day experience for us and learning to cope with these issues can be difficult. Finding jobs, mending relationships, getting through depression - all things that can be worked on and I would love to help.

Learning to navigate your heart—its past and present aches and longings—and learning how to walk alongside others is essential for discovering purpose in your life. Real, meaningful living involves finding safe places to tell your story and share your struggles; it means relying on someone to hear and hold what your heart has held alone. Counseling is a focused and supportive space for such work to be done. Every journey begins with a single step. An inch in the right direction.

As a compassionate therapist, I specialize in grief, PTSD, anxiety, bipolar disorders, sleep disorders, and occupational burnout. With a Ph.D. in psychology, I have expertise in anxiety, PTSD, depression, relationship problems, and sleep disorders. I am fluent in American Sign Language, providing direct therapy to Deaf and Hard of Hearing populations. Choose me as your therapist for personalized support in overcoming challenges and fostering resilience.

Are you stuck in negative thought, emotion or behavioral patterns? Are you hoping to provide meaning to your life and relationships? I am here to help you through the process of healing. My goal for each client is to provide hope and support while facilitating the therapeutic process.

Nobody knows you like you know yourself. Your past decisions weigh on you and stop you from moving forward, to a place of peace and growth. Your past does not determine your future, each day is a new opportunity to start fresh. You may doubt who you are or what you want out of life, but you are the keeper of your story and do have power over your future. Your journey to finding the best life possible begins when you decide to make the change. I consider it an honor to walk down the path of exploration with you. No journey is too big or small, I believe in honoring all of life’s moments with my clients in a nonjudgmental environment.

Let's get to work and get you where you want to be. I'm here to provide options, ideas, solutions, and the strategies to help get you there. I like to use the term "level up", as a description of honing the strengths and tools you already have. Together we can define and refine those skills you already have and also offer new approaches and mental tools that you can incorporate in your personal development journey. I use a combination of Cognitive Behavioral (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and Motivational Interviewing in a strengths-based, solution focused format. Time to level up to your best self, you got this!

Life has many joys as well as sorrows. It's important to stay connected and take special care of your self and seeking help when you need or want it is a good thing. Some areas I have helped people with include recovery from PTSD, divorce, death of a loved one, dealing with depression and anxiety, self-improvement, goal setting, life coaching and developing relationship and communication skills.

People enter into a counseling relationship when nothing else seems to be working. Although most people soon make comments such as, “(Counseling) was a lot better than I thought it would be”, few people seek counseling as a first option. More often we seek out techniques that either help us to temporarily avoid (e.g., media, social networking) our anxiety, or we seek temporary shots of pleasure (e.g., alcohol, food, pornography) that make us feel good for a short time. Soon enough we realize that all of these things leave us feeling more hollow and lonely, and that is when we start thinking about counseling.

Therapy should help you get better. My goal is to help clients move through difficult situations and make changes in their lives that contribute positively to their health. While I am a certified complex trauma therapist and specialize in treating combat related PTSD, I have also helped clients struggling with depression, anxiety, relationship issues, and infidelity. As a coach, I help clients to achieve personal goals such as losing weight or managing anger. Some people are wary of seeing a therapist, but my straight forward approach and focus on finding solutions has been an attractive option for even the most hesitant clients.

Life at times can seem like a battle field, and our minds our most hostile enemy. Many of us are in conflict with both internal and external factors that exist in our lives. Sometimes we don't feel equipped to withstand these forces or conditions that exist in our daily life. Depression, trauma, abuse, addictions, failed relationships, and shaming thought patterns that can hold us back in family relationships, academic achievement, social interactions, and career development. I believe the battles we win within our minds, can extend throughout all areas of our life. It's not only becoming mindful, but taking steps towards change.

Everybody has issues, grief, disappointment, illness,hurt, confusion, failures, and we can learn to cope, change,and grow no matter what the situation. I offer competent & compassionate counseling for those who seek help. At the moment we all are impacted by the C-19 virus. During this time I can offer phone consultations so don’t hesitate to call me . I am a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors, American Counseling Association,National Board for Certified Counselors (see other credentials and professional certifications.)

It is my honor to be able to work with you and my greatest hope is to see you flourish. I bring a Masters in social work with an undergrad in psychology, 7 years as a clinical therapist, and 14 years as a psychiatric inpatient technician that has allowed for an extended understanding of family, residential, school, and legal systems. With this experience, I strive to provide a rounded, more holistic approach in sessions with specialties in the areas of crisis management (including skill building and integration), ADHD, depression, anxiety, faith-based counseling and mindfulness, and self-harm.

I understand the daunting task of seeking help. I commend you for your courage to reach out to me for help. You desire therapy because you may be experiencing the following problems: Trauma, Depression,Anxiety, Addiction, Grief and Loss, Chronic Pain, suicide/self-injurious behaviors, interpersonal conflicts and othe psychological difficulties. Certainly, you would like to get to the bottom of your feelings, gain insights, deepen sense of self and self-integration. My therapy room will provide you a safe space to be yourself. I will meet you where you with zero judgment, empathetic ear and evidence based practice.

My hope is to empower and support individuals that want to reach their goals and shape their life in a way that gives them growth and improvement. Whether it's anxiety, heartbreak, depression, relationships, career struggles, confidence, grief, shifting interpersonal dynamics, or other significant life transitions, I love being a listening ear that will both empathize with the unique struggles that someone is facing, as well as help them cultivate the bravery and tools to move forward.

Finding help shouldn't be difficult, but it is, and I want to make that process easy for you, from the first contact. I have more than twenty years experience in behavioral medicine, and more than 30 years in helping professions. Using a wide range of expertise and training I treat diverse concerns of pre-teen through older adult clients. By varying treatment with a number of approaches, I strive to tailor therapy to the person, not just the problems identified. I work with mood and anxiety disorders, chronic pain and illness, trauma, addictions, eating and weight issues, and more.