Supervision that supports professional and practice development

Professional Background

I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Texas State University (2008) and a Master of Arts in Health Psychology with an emphasis in Counseling from Texas State University (2012). I am a Licensed Professional Counselor - Supervisor (69697) by the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors. I am also a Certified Eating Disorders Specialist-Supervisor (4770-S) by the International Association Of Eating Disorders Professionals.

My experience counseling individuals, families, and groups began during my Master’s education, where I gained experience working with adults, adolescents, and families at the Texas State University Counseling Center, the Eating Disorder Center at San Antonio (now the Eating Recovery Center of San Antonio), and Hill Country Recovery Center (now the Eating Recovery Center of Austin). Since that time, I have served as an Inpatient Therapist and Outpatient Director at a local psychiatric hospital, a Mindful Eating Program Therapist at the University of Texas - Austin, and a Therapist at an outpatient substance use facility. I then founded my private practice, Thrive Counseling and Consulting, PLLC, in 2017 and have been working solely in private practice ever since.

I have experience working with clients in various outpatient and inpatient settings who have a variety of concerns, such as: depression, anxiety, eating disorders, substance use, interpersonal relationship conflicts, problems regarding their boundaries and assertiveness, ineffective coping, stress management, life transitions, and work-life balance.

My approach to counseling clients is collaborative and holistic - I work closely with my clients to identify treatment goals and consider biological, psychological, environmental, and cultural aspects of my clients' lives. I utilize Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), humanistic, and relational approaches to counseling. I also utilize Intuitive Eating (Tribole & Resch) and Health at Every Size® principles in the work I do with my clients.

I completed DBT Skills Training from Behavioral Tech, LLC in 2012. I completed the Wingspan Supervisor training in 2018. I completed basic EMDR training with renown EMDRIA-Approved Trainer, Rick Levinson, LCSW in 2019. With that said, while I bring my own areas of interest and training into supervision, part of the joys of this work is learning new things along the way, so I welcome you to dig deeper into theories and practices that are of interest and suited to you.

In addition to my clinical and supervision work, I also provide professional consultation and training services. My associates are welcome to join any of my trainings for free. I am a member of The International Association Of Eating Disorders Professionals (IAEDP) and I have served on the Leadership Boards as the Education Chair for two non-profit organizations, Central Texas Eating Disorder Specialists and the Association for Size Diversity and Health. I am an expert contributor for Eating Disorder Hope and Addiction Hope and have presented at local, state, regional, and national conferences.

Supervision Approach

One of my greatest joys as an LPC-Supervisor is working with new counselors as they journey towards full licensure. As a Wingspan Certified and Texas State Board-Approved Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor, I provide a safe, compassionate environment to foster the growth and development of Licensed Professional Counselor Associates.

Throughout the supervision experience I will take on different roles at different times — administrator teacher, trainer, role model, consultant, counselor, evaluator, gatekeeper, and partner in this shared journey. During the supervision process, associates will develop their counseling skills and theoretical knowledge, learn best ethical practices, gain practical clinical tools, and develop personally and professionally through self-reflection and evaluation, group work when possible, quality supervision, and experiential exercises. When available, associates may have the opportunity to work with individual clients and to co-facilitate groups and workshops with me in my private practice if they so choose.

I use a developmental model of supervision based on the Integrated Developmental Model developed by Stoltenberg, McNeill, and Delworth (1998). This model considers significant, yet common stages of development as a counselor and takes into account the Supervisee’s level of training, experience, and proficiency. This model considers that each counselor goes through stages of development, beginning as a novice counselor (i.e., limited training or experience in the specific domain of supervision such as treatment planning or case conceptualization, very dependent upon Supervisor, etc.) and ending as an autonomous, seasoned clinician (i.e., a personal style of counseling has emerged and the Supervisee demonstrates high levels of awareness regarding personal competency, counselor functions more independently without need for highly-involved supervision, Supervisor becomes more of a consultant, etc.).

In my role as Supervisor, I often utilize the approaches I taking in counseling (CBT, DBT, Humanistic, Relational, etc) to support my associates in their counselor development. I work collaboratively with my Supervisees and provide a supportive environment for professional growth and development. With that, I also try to tailor feedback and interventions to each unique Supervisee. To best facilitate Supervisee’s development, I utilize self-evaluations, between session assignments, and/or audio/video recordings with clients or Supervisees.

Values Guiding Supervision

During my time as a LPC-S, I’ve identified four core values that guide my supervision practice, these are:

Mutual Respect, Compassion, Non-judgmental Encouragement & Support, Challenge & Growth

• Mutual Respect - Bi-directional respect is the foundation of our supervisory relationship. This includes being willing to provide constructive feedback to supervisees, and likewise, to be open and receptive to receiving constructive feedback from supervisees as well.

• Compassion - This quality is what brings me to this work. Having been a new counselor myself and a counselor who continues to value professional and personal growth, it is my desire to hold compassion for my associates and support them through their counselor journey so that they can develop both their competence and confidence.

• Non-judgmental Encouragement & Support - While constructive feedback fosters growth and development, judgment simply halts growth and development. You should feel my encouragement, support, curiosity, and care for you, not judgment.

• Challenge & Growth - Along with compassion and non-judgmental encouragement and support, I find that the Associate stage of counselor development is an important time to be challenged so that there are opportunities for growth. In my work with Associates, I consider both Professional Development (this includes the clinical knowledge needed to treat clients, which begins in grad school) and Practice Development (this includes the knowledge clinicians need in order to have their own Private Practice, which is not often taught in counseling programs).

Fees

Individual Supervision (1 to 2 LPC-Associates) - 1 hour session - $150 ($100 if shared with another Associate)

Group Supervision (3 or more LPC-Associates) - 2 hour session - $100

CEDS or Dual LPC & CEDS Supervision - please inquire