Couples Counseling Therapists in Nashville, TN

Seeking help is a courageous step in many of our lives and I am honored to be given the opportunity to share in the journey of healing with my clients. I work with individuals, couples , and families to provide counseling on a wide variety of life issues. I have experience helping clients work through depression, anxiety, life transitions, trauma, grief, divorce, marital issues, job satisfaction, and family conflict.

This private practice is unlike most others. I am a pre-licensed clinical fellow at The Briggs Institute, Inc. The therapists at the Institute are graduates of Lipscomb University's Master of Marriage and Family Therapy Program. As the only COAMFTE accredited program in Nashville, the Lipscomb MFT program has earned its fine reputation by meeting the highest academic and clinical experience standards in the country. Because we practice under the supervision of the Lipscomb MFT program core faculty, we remain connected to academia. This means our work is informed by state-of-the-art scientific research.

Two values I strive for in the therapy room are understanding and security. When you walk through my door, I want you to feel the kind of safety that allows you to get cozy on the sofa and take a deep breath before diving into what matters most to you. Throughout the process, my hope is that all parts of you - those you love and know well and those that you struggle with or push away in your daily life - feel welcome, seen, appreciated, and understood. My clients are primarily adult individuals and low-conflict couples , who hope to find healing and connection within themselves and with others.

Accepting online clients in South Carolina and Tennessee: I work with adolescents (16+), adults, couples , and families across a number of different life experiences and mental health issues. I also work with the LGBT+ community as an "out" counselor, as well as the foster care and adoption communities. I approach counseling from a multicultural and social justice viewpoint and have lived and worked in many US states and countries, which is an experience I draw from to understand your unique experience.

Missy has worked in the field of mental health for over fifteen years as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She is experienced in working with individuals, couples and youth in the areas of trauma, attachment, depression, anxiety, grief, relational issues, body image, personal growth and self care. In addition to being a mental health clinician, Missy is a registered yoga teacher, with well over 500 hours of training, and an additional 300 hour certification in yoga therapy.

(COVID-19 NOTICE: Online Sessions Now Offered) It takes a lot of courage to enter into psychotherapy. If you are looking at this website, you may be suffering anxiety, emotional or relational pain, and wondering where to get relief. Choosing a therapist can be overwhelming. I work with couples and individual clients, many who have suffered anxiety and depression, grief, trauma, addiction, painful relationships, and eating disorders. Because of life experience as well as extensive training, I can offer practical tools that can help relieve you now as well as long after you leave my office. I am glad to answer any of your questions

One of the most difficult questions to answer is often the simplest one: What do you want? We often fixate on the needs and desires of others, losing touch with our own. I believe your desires are powerful beyond belief. They make you unique and hold the key that unlock freedom and opportunity. As we discover them, we can heal blocks, often past trauma, that hold us back, in order to create something new. I'd love to partner with you and explore where you've been and want to go. Together, we will co-create a beautiful path forward and write a compelling next chapter where you play the Hero.

"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional." Haruki Murakami. I will hold a safe space for you to process life and its inevitable pains--change, loss, grief, and trauma. I will join you without judgement: where you are, as you are. Sessions will be collaborative and supportive—a partnership. You will gain an experience of trust and of personal power. You will be equipped with tools and skills relative to the goals that you establish, enabling you to thrive independently. Relationships, "stuckness", trauma, etc. will be addressed and resolved. Together, we will manifest your inherent creativity, purpose, and joy.

Counseling provides you the opportunity to improve your life and derive more enjoyment from it. I can help you work through childhood issues or deal with problems that are occurring in your life at the present time. Sadness, anxiety and anger are feelings which I can help you effectively learn to deal with.

I help you build your capacity to create more of the life you want, ideally one that is healthier and more personally satisfying. To do this, you need a partner to support you in doing the hard work of facing issues and working with obstacles, so you can develop more capacity to create change. Trauma, depression, anxiety, self-esteem, boundaries, narcissistic wounding, and somatic issues are all things I work with often. Clients often reach out due to feeling anxious, panicky, isolated, frustrated in relationships, stuck in perfectionism or people-pleasing, sad or unlike their usual selves, or desiring a deeper level of healing.

As a therapist, I work with people who are feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or looking to make some sort of change (in life, relationships, unhealthy habits or behaviors, etc.). I work primarily from a relational-cultural approach, which means that my focus is on the therapeutic relationship, authenticity, and perhaps most importantly, collaboration. Content related to the past, present, and future are each considered to be sources of valuable information, as are thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. I value creativity and a sense of humor in my work with clients; your experience is yours alone and as such, your treatment will be individually tailored to your needs.

Are holiday gatherings more stressful than joyful? Do you dread going home? You can learn to feel peace, even in the midst of chaos. I seek to work collaboratively with clients to help them learn new and healthier ways of relating to those around them and gain a greater ability to treat themselves and others with compassion. It takes courage to step into the therapy room; I work to provide a disarming space for clients. My curiosity guides me as I get to know people for who they are and help clients learn to think, feel, and act in new productive ways in order for them to become the people they hope to be.

I have over 20 years experience in private practice and institutional settings. I work with individuals and couples . I use traditional talk therapy methods as well as instituting new approaches such as the use of EMDR for those suffering from trauma.

I hope to create a safe space where vulnerability and honesty can be practiced and valued. My therapeutic relationship with my clients is most important to me; I develop and maintain meaningful therapeutic relationships full of genuine discussion, rigorous honesty and self-reflection. I enjoy working with couples who are feeling disconnected and unheard, parents struggling to understand and effectively parent their strong-willed child, children and adolescents struggling to develop identity and sense of self, and individuals, couples or families struggling with codependency and enmeshment.

Learn how to feel more connected to yourself, others and the world around you. Therapy provides all the elements of intimacy: honest communication, vulnerability and trust. Good therapy is challenging yet warm, providing both structure and empathy for your unique experience. We are a collective of therapists with a wide range of specialties. Our intake professionals will help connect you with the right therapist for your needs. We make appointments easy, offering evenings and weekends and flexibility for creative professionals who can't make the same time each week.

My passion as a counselor is two-fold: to walk alongside couples who feel emotionally distant and distressed in their relationships on the path toward connection and healing, and to journey with women who are struggling with anxiety, trauma, conflict resolution, and other relational issues.

We all have an innate capacity to create a sense of well-being. Yet, the demands of our lives---difficult relationships, losses, disappointments, transitions---can cause feelings of helplessness or even despair. Vitality falls way to depression or anxiety or addictive behaviors. Therapy can be useful to better understand and manage the complexities of your life; to reclaim some vitality; to love, work, and play in ways that are more congruent with who you strive to be. With twenty five years of experience, I offer seasoned and compasssionate guidance as you define your specific goals and work toward inhabiting a truer version of yourself.

Where do I begin and the life experiences that shaped me end? We all go through times where we stumble on the question "Who am I?" No matter what the issue, my hope for you is not perfection or happiness. The goal for our time together is wholeness; because through authenticity, anything in life becomes possible. This is true for individual adults and children, as well as for families and couples .