I’ve practiced counseling in various settings for over 23 years, and I’ve had significant success with my clients. I strive to create an environment of trust, safety, and total acceptance, and I use an approach that does not seek to judge, heal, or even change. The goal is to bring my clients to a more realistic view of themselves, others, and the world based on rational, objective evaluations.
I believe that as humans our beliefs, feelings, and actions are influenced by three separate perspectives. The illness or pathology perspective looks at things as healthy or unhealthy, well or ill. Within the moral or religious perspective, we view and even judge ourselves, others, and the world as good or bad, righteous or sinful. These two perspectives can lead individuals into thinking they are abnormal, mentally defective, immoral, or sinful and can result in feelings of shame, guilt, doubt, helplessness, and despair. And who wants that??
If, however, we understand that all of our behaviors are attempts to survive psychologically—in much the same ways that we try to survive physically—and if we are able to objectively rather than judgmentally evaluate these behaviors, we can bypass those unwanted emotional byproducts of the illness and moral perspectives and begin the real work of understanding and accepting ourselves using more realistic criteria.
Think of psychological survival not in terms of life or death, but in terms of success, fulfillment, and integrity—defined by you alone. As we attempt to survive psychologically, we utilize all parts of our psyche, and some parts may not be pretty or pleasant. However, these might be the very parts of us we need to emerge from the shadows, “to pop up and rescue us from ourselves”.
One of my favorite quotes states it quite eloquently: “Every one of us has a thousand different kinds of little people inside of us. And some of them want to get out and be wild, and some want to be sad, or happy, or inventive, or even just go dancing! That’s why we all have so many different urges at different times. And all those different little people inside of us…we must never be afraid to take them with us wherever we go. I mean, who knows when we might need one of them to pop up and rescue us from ourselves! The great secret is not the variety of life, it’s the variety of us.” ~Lwaxana Troi (portrayed by Majel Barrett in Star Trek: TNG)
Additional areas of focus: Intimacy-related issues, Anger management, Self esteem, Aging and geriatric issues, BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture, Communication problems, Control issues, Emptiness, Gender dysphoria, Guilt and shame, HIV / AIDS, Isolation / loneliness, Men's issues, Midlife crisis, Mood disorders, Personality disorders, Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships, Prejudice and discrimination, Self-love, Sexuality, Social anxiety and phobia
Clinical approaches: Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Jungian Therapy, Mindfulness Therapy
AZ LPC LPC-23201
CO LPC 0013781
These quotes represent just a few of the many positive reviews that we have received for Jodie Miller. We don't pay anyone to provide their review and they are all made voluntarily. Some people's experience receiving therapy with BetterHelp might be different.
Fantastic and caring therapist
Written on Mar 08, 2023 after therapy with Jodie for 1 month
Jodie listens and relates to me on a personal level, making me feel safer expressing myself
Written on Feb 20, 2023 after therapy with Jodie for 1 month on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, lgbt, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, intimacy-related issues, self esteem, coping with life changes, and adhd
Wow, I was lucky to have found an excellent therapist right off the bat. As someone who has had therapy in the past, I found it really helpful to explain my journey, experience, and what ultimately brought me to betterhelp. I highly reccommend using the journal feature as a means for reflection and helping to enhance live sessions.
I agree with past reviews. You will find out right off the bat if Jodie is a match for you.
Written on Oct 12, 2022 after therapy with Jodie for 2 weeks on issues concerning stress, anxiety, lgbt, grief, eating disorders, self esteem, coping with life changes, and adhd
Smart,compassionate, experienced ,open minded
And Devoted to his work
Written on Oct 06, 2022 after therapy with Jodie for 2 weeks on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, lgbt, relationship issues, trauma and abuse, self esteem, coping with life changes, and coaching
Jodie helped me through a tough decision and I feel significantly better as a result.
Written on Aug 08, 2022 after therapy with Jodie for 3 weeks on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, intimacy-related issues, anger management, coaching, and adhd
He listens and helps me view things differently.
Written on Jul 08, 2022 after therapy with Jodie for 1 month on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, trauma and abuse, eating disorders, sleeping disorders, parenting issues, self esteem, coping with life changes, compassion fatigue, and adhd