Healthy sexuality is our objective in sexual addiction. Sex is an integral and balanced part of life experience. Sexual behaviors become problematic when they violate vows and values, are dishonest, harmful to others, put you at risk, diminishes your joy in life, act as a barrier filled with shame, self-contempt, and isolation. Sexual health creates intimacy and closeness, characterized by trust, respect, joy and safety. Sexual health can be achieved by sex addicts in recovery. The trauma and addiction model identifies the trauma and internal system that underwrites addiction and does not view problematic behavior as moral failure.

I have observed the therapeutic effects of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) on depression and have developed an extensive repertoire of behavioral tactics for its treatment. The worst thing about depression is that it makes us feel as if there is no hope for ever getting out of it. In fact, it's a very treatable disorder. CBT uses logic, reasoning, and goal setting to dig ourselves out of depression. I supplement CBT with Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), a state of the art non-talk therapy. EMDR intensifies and multiplies our positive nerves and decreases pessimistic obsessive thoughts.

Children can be exposed to multiple sources of discomfort. It's not unusual for children who are experiencing discomfort for it to show up in their behavior, handling adjustments, or in their ability to self-regulate. This might look like the child experiencing anxiety, sadness, anger, lack of social connection, etc. My goal is for children to leave my practice with the skills to believe in their abilities, interact effectively and meaningfully with others, regulate emotions, and ultimately be more adaptable and flexible to the events of life.

My ideal client is one who is aware that they need to do something different but aren't quite sure what the next step is. This could be a life transition from adolescence to adulthood, or a couple who struggles with communication. It could be more intense like a couple who is in the middle of despair or broken trust, or an individual or child who has experienced something traumatic that has changed their whole world. All these individuals are looking for ways to regain their life and become who they believe themselves to be.

Need to talk to someone but don't know where to start? Start here! Marriage, parenting, life transitions, anxiety, and eating disorders are just a few topics discussed in my office. Sometimes the focus of therapy is to resolve current problems and other times the focus is long standing non productive patterns. When we stop taking care of ourselves and live according to other people's expectations, we lose our true self. By working with you in a positive and accepting environment, My practical, interactive style can help you discover the root(s) of your discontent and/or overwhelm and help you find healing and resolution.

Do you feel stuck or like failure is your normal? Do you have painful memories or nightmares of the past that still haunt you and wish you could just move past them? Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based treatment that resolves the body's response to trauma, phobias, or negative life experiences. Whether you are a survivor of a horrific trauma or you have experienced adverse life events, I’m here to help you move past those experiences and into a more fulfilling future. Most people can benefit from EMDR therapy, which is often coupled with CBT and other therapies.

My practice is client centered, directed at meeting a person exactly where they are at on their current journey. It is a strength based approach and I am committed to cultivating and highlighting the resources one has within themselves to increase resiliency, balance, and joy.

The gift of therapy lies in the journey for both client and therapist. It is my belief that therapy is most effective when those involved allow themselves to be impacted by right relationship with the other. Only through right relationship, co-regulation and genuine empathy can true healing occur.

People come to our office hurting and wanting change in their lives. We offer caring, experienced and professional psychological services.

If you are an adult or teenager struggling with depression, anxiety, relationship issues, trauma issues, self-esteem, and/or setting boundaries, I would love to help you. Couples with relational stress are welcome as I enjoy and have experience in marital/couples therapy and helping relationships succeed. Currently, I lead the Healthy Relationships group at Synergy Counseling Center. I have recently been trained in EMDR to assist clients with reduction in trauma-related symptoms resulting in overall healing. DBT is one of my specialties and I have assisted clients with learning these skills individually or in a group setting.

***Accepting New Clients*** Are you feeling overwhelmed? Are the challenges of life becoming too much? Is excessive worry keeping you up at night? Life can present a host of challenges. When it does, it is important to have the support of a skilled professional who can help you navigate life's difficulties. I have experience and education working with a variety of individuals in many different environments.

My clients are successful, highly-motivated professionals who find that certain areas of life are becoming unmanageable. I am a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT®) specializing in sex/porn addictions, partners of sex addicts, multiple addictions, trauma, abuse, and PTSD. I trained under Patrick Carnes at the International Institute of Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP). Under Dan Allender I earned an advanced counseling certificate in trauma-focused narrative therapy. Addiction, abuse and trauma are viewed as symptoms rather than defining characteristics. I seek an approach to recovery that embraces positive, proactive, sustainable change.

I look forward to working with clients whose life path may have created difficulties for them that has led them not be the best of who they can be. Each individual's path may have been sprinkled with physical or emotional abuse, neglect, assault, grief and loss, domestic violence, marital or parental discord or a myriad of other situations. Sometimes these life paths create in my clients a feeling of hopeless and loss of self-worth, sometimes these path end with someone needing to determine a plan to leave an unsafe living situation. Sometimes these paths lead to turning to substances and illegal drugs to cope with the internal turmoil and pain. It is my privlege to work with clients to help them identify and bring forth the best of who they are and what they want for their life, their family and their future through their own individual strengths.

Touchstone Counseling is currently collaborating with Missouri State University's Counseling and Clinical Psychology Graduate Students. Our Counseling Department Students have completed required course work, and a full practicum requiring direct client hours in their downtown clinic. Students have experience working with anxiety, depression, stress, relationship issues, family issues, etc. Our Clinical Psychology Practicum Students are joining us to begin their counseling experience here at Touchstone. They are excited to start working with our community members while adapting their counseling identity.

**We are accepting new clients.** What a stressful time we are living in! Kids not being able to play and go to school like normal. Parents trying to work from home and be teachers. Life has always been about change, but now it can feel impossible sometimes to feel safe and secure. So many people are just trying to make it through a day at a time and the need for peace and even just a small break in the pressure just keeps being shoved aside. It can feel like there is no time to work on the big things in life, our families, and careers when we keep waiting for another unexpected fire to pop up.

I have been in private practice for 33 years and see individuals, families, adolescents and children. I believe people have the ability to make positive changes in their lives, given the tools to have better coping skills, enhanced self esteem, guidance with problem areas, and changing patterns of behaving and thinking, No matter how difficult the situation may seem, there is always a solution.

My goals are to provide a safe space and place of acceptance to my clients. I also work to help them reach empowerment to make positive changes in their lives. I believe in the abilities people hold inside and find it important to validate their experience. Looking for help on our journey in life is a sign of real strength. The therapeutic process leads one to adapt, transform, accept, and grow within oneself.

Our world is constantly changing. The stresses and pressures of daily living are even more evident now, and everyone deserves to have a healthy mindset to meet those challenges. Behavioral Wellness is a place where young adults, children, and families can find solutions and navigate their mental health successfully. As a Psychologist, I will help guide you in outpatient therapy to find solutions to your challenges.

As an experienced psychologist, my approach is to provide support and practical feedback to help clients resolve problems and long-standing patterns. The way surgeons use a scalpel and a dentist uses a drill, I use psychological testing and a therapeutic relationship to help create change for each of my patients. Research shows that around 85% of what makes counseling effective is how the patient feels about their therapist. If you think that your doctor cares about you and knows what he/she is talking about; then 85% of the time, you will have positive results.

It is about relationships. Either with oneself, ones family member, or ones partner. My goal is to help you expand and strengthen your emotional world. To help you feel seen and heard in your relationships. I will help you to learn to manage the distressing emotions arising during conflicts with a loved one. With those seeking couples counseling we will work on avoiding defensiveness, criticism, contempt, and stonewalling. I will help you build an atmosphere of admiration and appreciation providing you with the tools to be able to reestablish the friendship and fondness that once drew you together.