Therapists in Missouri

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." And today you've taken that one most important step. Hello! My name is Michelle Watson and I'm excited about the opportunity to go along on this journey with you. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the state of Missouri with over 10 years of experience. I have worked with a diverse group of clients with a wide range of concerns including self-esteem, anger management, stress management, grief and loss, depression, anxiety, ADHD and simply learning to cope with life changes. I find that relationship plays a large role in a client’s willingness to go down this path. It’s essential that clients work with someone they feel they can trust and someone who aligns with their particular needs. Therefore I believe it would benefit you to know a little about me and understand my philosophy of counseling. This is a nonjudgmental and safe place to express yourself. I take a collaborative and supportive stance in my approach to therapy. I strive to empower clients using a strengths-based approach; meaning I believe we all have positives attributes we can draw on to help us cope with difficult times. Therapy is a process. And yes change can seem hard and scary; but through partnering together, we will work on your identified goals and you will feel empowered to move forward. The ultimate goal will always be for you to get to a place in which you feel like you don’t need me anymore; that you have gained a better sense of self and coping. My approach combines cognitive-behavioral, interpersonal psychotherapy, solution focused counseling, and mindfulness based interventions. Please know there is no "one sizes fits all in counseling" so rest assured I will tailor our dialog and treatment plan to meet your unique and specific needs. Change can be hard. And it takes courage to take actions towards a more fulfilling and happier life. Happiness is always possible! This is your first steps towards a change. If you are ready to take that step I am here to support and empower you. I look forward to partnering with you along this journey!

Hello and welcome to Better Help. You have taken a huge step towards healing, and I am so glad that you are here! My name is Abby Pease and I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of Missouri. I earned both my Bachelors and Masters of Social Work degree from the University of Missouri (GO TIGERS!). I have worked in a variety of settings including community organizations, schools, in home, and hospital settings. Over the past five years, I have had the pleasure to work with individuals and families with dealing with depression, anxiety, trauma, abuse, addictions, relationship struggles, family issues, increasing stress, and more. My style of therapy is supportive, direct, and honest. I truly believe that to get the most out of our work together, it is imperative to be real and transparent with one another. I understand that trust can be difficult to develop at times (myself included), but I strongly believe that it is incredibly important to connect and feel comfortable with the person you choose to share your personal struggles. I have worked with a multitude of clients from various backgrounds and experiences, so no judgments here! Together, we will explore your hopes and goals for growth, and skillfully address the barriers that are keeping you from reaching your full potential! I look forward to working with you!

Greetings, I am pleased and excited that you have decided to consider me as a possible partner in your journey of discovery, growth, and healing and I look forward to having the opportunity to work with you. My name is Debra Younger. I have the claim to fame of being a 4th generation Californian, though I currently live in the mountains of New Mexico. I have been a professional therapist and Life Coach for 11 years. As a result, I am able to bring a wide breadth of learning and experience to my work. I am also a veteran and have a heart for working with our returning servicemen and women as they struggle to re-integrate back into civilian life from a combat or military environment. On a personal note, my many life experiences, such as being a single parent for 23 years, allow me to truly understand and emphasize with many of the adverse life events my clients have experienced. I have also been in my own personal therapy for 10 years, so I understand what it takes to admit that you’re human, that you can’t always handle what life throws at you, and be courageous enough to seek help. My areas of expertise lie in working with individuals who are struggling to deal with the adverse events they have experienced in their lives; including trauma, all forms of abuse, loss, grief, and attachment issues. My approach to therapy is founded on my belief that my clients are more than the problems that they are experiencing and bring to therapy. It is a holistic approach that sees them as a whole person consisting of mind, body, and spirit intimately intertwined and inseparable. A problem in any one area always affects the others. My preferred modality for counseling is Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy. This is a therapeutic approach that does not pathologize people, but rather takes a positive attitude toward the client’s issues and sees them as normal reactions to adverse life events, which events can create negative beliefs. These negative beliefs can then interfere with an individual’s ability to form healthy, adult relationships. Learning how to shift these negative beliefs to positive adaptive beliefs can enhance the ability to build healthy relationships. I am very excited about what IFS can offer you and would welcome the opportunity to introduce you to this powerful therapy and how it can help transform your lives.

Using a person-centered trauma-focused approach, I will help you learn to have a more fulfilling life. I believe in being real and providing unconditional positive regard which means that I accept you for how you are and believe that anyone is capable of having a new life. My diverse life experiences have provided me the tools to provide genuine empathy which is important to build that connection and trust. I have had several opportunities to work with diverse populations. I specialize in trauma and substance abuse and have worked a lot with anxiety, depression, foster care, self-esteem, and family conflict.

My name is Julie Downs and I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of Missouri. I earned my Masters Degree from the University of Missouri/Columbia in 2000. I earned my Certification from the University of Indiana in career counseling in 2012. I have worked in various settings over the past 26 years that include outpatient mental health and private practice settings serving children, families, and adults. I have also worked in educational settings from higher education to elementary and secondary education. My areas of expertise include trauma, depression, anxiety, family conflict, relationships, and parenting. I enjoy working with children, but have also worked with adults, specifically when addressing family needs. I definitely take a holistic and systemic approach when looking at family dynamics, relationships, interactions, and functioning. I look at my relationships with clients as a partnership. I am very resourceful and creative in my approaches so if I do not have the knowledge or information, I will locate it for my clients. I take a non-judgmental stance because I believe diversity is what enriches my life and those around me. I also adhere to my professional code of ethics where taking an unbiased approach is a necessity. I am extremely energetic and creative in my approach with therapy. I strive to keep my clients engaged providing various options and encouraging them to overcome challenges, fears, or reservations about trying new things. I do regular check-ins to make sure my approach is having a positive impact on my clients' lives and that there is a continuation of progress towards goals. My clients are treated with dignity and respect, but I will be assertive in a respective manner when addressing patterns of behaviors that are impeding progress. Cognitive behavioral approaches are the foundation of my therapy, but I also use eclectic interventions through trauma, solution focused, and client centered modalities, making adjustments that fit my clients' communication and personality styles and needs. I am also a trained Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) therapist. I believe continuity of care and ongoing support is crucial in therapy services and check my messages minimally three times a day. I look forward to working with you and forging a partnership in helping you reach your goals!

Thank you for checking out my profile, and congratulations on taking the next step improving your quality of life! I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Missouri. I completed by BSW at Missouri Western State University in 2013, my MSW from Park University in 2015, and my clinical supervision in 2020. In my time as a social worker I have worked in foster care, domestic violence, and outpatient mental health. I previously worked as an outpatient therapist 8-5 Monday through Friday, but I noticed something- so do a lot of other people. By providing services through BetterHelp, I can help those who have been left out of traditional therapy due to the struggle of scheduling therapy during work hours. This also applies to those of you who are parents- I am a single mom to two amazing kids... so I know about the work/ parent/ self-care balance. I also spend a lot of time reading, and have probably cried/ laughed/ loved some of your favorite characters and authors, so lets chat about it. Sometimes the way art imitates life can be a great path towards healing. My passion is teaming with individuals to help them identify triggers that are negatively impacting their quality of life, and then identifying and developing skills for managing those triggers. Whether it is trauma, behavioral, or mental health, I believe therapy is a great tool to help bridge the gap between where life is now and where you would like to see life go. I have experience with CBT, Solution Focused Brief Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing, all which showcase themselves in my warm, strengths based approach. I believe therapy is a partnership, and that success is best found when both of us are committed to the goals you identify for yourself! Thank you for considering me as your partner in this journey.

We all face challenges in life. Reaching out for help requires strength and courage, and as a therapist, it is important to me to provide an environment where the client can feel heard, validated and safe. My name is Gabby and I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I will provide a supportive and compassionate environment that allows space to explore challenges, intense emotions, and trauma. With over 20 years of clinical experience, I provide support for clients living with depression, anxiety, trauma and substance use. I also address relationship issues, anger management and self-esteem . In additional to providing an environment to process emotions, I feel it is imperative to explore and develop new strategies for managing intense emotions. This allows for forward progress, by learning new skills to manage old behaviors and thought patterns. This encompass not only mental and emotional health ,but also overall wellness, including diet, exercise, sleep and self-care. I believe the client is the expert on their life and therefore my role as the therapist is to empower them to identify, utilize and build on their personal strengths. Through a strengths-based and solutions-focused lens, I collaborate with clients to develop personal treatment plans. Utilizing CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), I teach clients how to recognize the connection between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors . I provide insight and encouragement as the client begins to challenge their thoughts, thus learning how to choose actions instead of continuing the cycle of reacting. Finally, I teach distress tolerance skills using Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), including mindfulness, grounding skills and breathing techniques as a way to manage intense emotions. Taking the step to seek therapy is a sign of strength. My primary goal as the therapist is to promote and encourage change within clients that bring peace and balance back to their lives.

I began my addictions counseling career six years after entering recovery from alcohol/drug use, on 5/13/1982. My original counseling schooling was in Rational Emotive Therapy, which evolved into Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and led to my schooling in Narrative Therapy and Transactional Analysis. Most recently, I have become interested in Miller & Rollnick's Motivational Interviewing, Prochaska & Diclemente's Stages of Change model of behavior change, Berg & Miller's Solution-Focused Therapy, Marlatt & Donovan's relapse prevention strategies and techniques, ACT therapy, and Internal Family Systems therapy. My most recent Certification is in Robin Shapiro's Eye Movement and Desensitization Reprocessing-EMDR-, through the EMDRIA International Institute in November of 2021. As a Therapist, I necessarily became conversant in telehealth methodology during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. I approach counseling holistically: I understand individuals as "whole cloth", i.e., as the current product(s) of their total life experiences. I also firmly believe in all-ways maintaining a positively enthusiastic outlook on life and living!

Hi there! Thanks for stopping by to check out my page as you search to find the very best fit for yourself on this journey! Let's get to it. I am a Licensed Specialist Clinical Social Worker (LSCSW) and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP). I am licensed in the state of Kansas and Missouri and work part-time as a Yoga Therapist, RYT 200. I have 12 years of clinical experience and have worked with individuals of all ages facing a multitude of challenges including depression, anxiety, ADHD, mood disorders, parenting concerns, gender identity needs, relationship issues, self esteem and overcoming everyday stressors. I enjoy providing education regarding the impacts of childhood trauma and how to use that information to better understand ourselves and how to heal moving forward. I believe the more in-tune we are with ourselves the better equipped we are to make positive and lasting changes in life. My therapeutic approach is holistic in nature. I believe the most important aspect is meeting clients where they are. You know yourself better than anyone and it is your intention, purpose and goal that matters most in this work. I strive to create a safe, non-judgmental space allowing people to be themselves while feeling supported and encouraged to create and maintain the life they want. I utilize various therapeutic approaches based on goals of my clients and their individual needs. If you feel we would work well together I look forward to getting to know you more. If you go a different direction I wish you all the best in your journey!

I am licensed in Missouri with 6 years of professional work experience. I have experience in helping clients with stress and anxiety, parenting issues, motivation, self esteem, and confidence, & depression. I believe that you are the expert of your story and that you have many strengths that will assist you in overcoming things that challenge you. Taking the first step to sign up for therapy can take courage and I am proud of you for getting started!