Strength-Based Therapists in Saugatuck, MI

Life can be hard, especially in our pre-teen through young adult years. There are many significant life challenges and changes that occur in this time. Peer pressure, self-esteem, anxiety, lack of motivation, and managing friendships and relationships can all make this time period that much more difficult. Thankfully, you do not have to do it alone. Through individual therapy sessions, I strive to create a safe space to unpack life's difficulties and empower you to find ways to move through them using a strength-based cognitive behavioral approach.

My career as a licensed professional counselor has always focused on children and families. I discovered a particular passion for family preservation, foster care and adoption that later lead me to early childhood and infant mental health.

Life is full of changes. Sometimes these changes are filled with excited butterflies as you start a new school or career, begin a new relationship or pursue a dream. Other times these changes can be marked by frustration or pain as you go through the loss of a loved one, career or dream. No matter what you experience, having someone to walk alongside you can help bring a sigh of relief and be an added support.

Hi I am Gaby, a licensed clinical professional counselor, I earned my master’s degree in Community Counseling at Loyola University Chicago. I realized I wanted to become a therapist during a serendipitous summer camp experience—40 feet in the air on the high ropes course, I learned that I loved helping people process challenging experiences in creative ways. I have been doing individual therapy with teens and adults of all ages since 2020. Previously, I worked as a clinical consultant, clinical director, and clinical supervisor in specialized mental health rehabilitation settings.

Although I spend a lot of time conducting psychological assessments, I truly enjoy the time I get to spend as a therapist walking through life with my clients. At one point in time or another, all of us struggle with anxiety, depression, self-esteem, relationships, big-emotions and overall ineffectiveness in our life. In therapy, we not only spend time discussing ongoing issues and current difficulties, but we also focus on themes in our lives and the ways that our thinking patterns can inhibit our ability to create the unique life that we want to live.

Let’s face it, when life gets tough, it can be helpful to know you have someone to walk alongside you in your journey; to have a place where you can feel heard, valued, and supported. A place where you can express your honest feelings and develop strategies to improve your overall well being. To know that you are not alone. Whether you are looking for counseling for yourself, or your child, I am confident you will find our time together as an invaluable experience, where you have a deep-felt sense of support and understanding, where you feel confident in your ability to navigate life’s challenges.

Hello! Life has a way of coming at us in the most unpredictable, unimaginable ways. As such, it can make the most "put-together-person" crumble. If you are feeling overwhelmed, scared, angry, confused, alone, helpless, worthless, stressed, lost, sad.... you've come to the right place. It happens to most of us and that's what makes us human. We make mistakes, we fall down, we get hurt, life is messy, and it gets to be too much and is seemingly unmanageable for us. With some help, we will go through the process of rebuilding, stand back up and then become stronger than we were before.

Safety, trust and empathy is the foundation of our therapeutic relationship. These features eventually become part of the catalyst to your growth. As a psychodynamic psychotherapist, our work together entails deep conversation about your thoughts, feelings, experiences and life story. I lead with compassion, curiosity and deep respect. Never losing sight of the honor it is to walk alongside you on your journey. I enjoy working with people seeking to better understand themselves while struggling with; anxiety, trauma, life transitions, depression and relationship issues. I am particularly well versed in grief, loss, death and dying.

I am honored to have worked as a therapist for the past several years in a variety of settings and currently work with children, teens, and adults who experience depression, anxiety, stress, anger, adjustment to change, and more! I'm passionate about working alongside individuals to create a life that is meaningful to them and honors their diverse lived experiences.

I work primarily with teens and young adults, I also work with adults. I am here to help you work through life transitions, or struggles that you may be facing. My goal is to help you feel comfortable coming to counseling and encourage you to focus on the challenge that brought you in. Life can throw unexpected challenges at us and I would love to help you navigate through the challenges of life successfully.

My counseling service was created to help individual adults and couples untangle the ineffective and unhealthy patterns in life and relationships. Clients receive deep, lasting results with me because we address not just your most pressing problems, but also explore the problematic patterns in life that contributed to your current distress. I have a warm, engaging, open style that provides a trusting environment for successful therapy and change in the lives of my clients.

I enjoy coaching clients and professionals through life-stressors, trauma recovery (PTSD), mediating relational issues in couples and family therapy, and helping clients develop healthy coping skills for anxiety, depression, mood and impulse disorders. I help clients set and reach achievable long and short term goals to give them a sense of productivity and accomplishment through solution-focused therapy. If you are in need of specific resources or community services, I walk alongside my clients to identify needs and coordinate services. I welcome clients at all stages of mental health wellness.

Sometimes we don't understand why we feel the way we do or even how our feelings guide us in our choices. It can be a complex process to navigate for children, teens and adults. I have extensive experience working with individuals seeking understanding and clarity with their emotions. I have worked with individuals to understand and manage anxiety, depression, anger, oppositional defiance, ADHD, and severe emotional dysregulation. Together we will find the path to success because You Matter!