Welcome to Lighthouse Counseling. Therapy is based upon boundaries and trust. Please carefully review the following information since it is the foundation on which the counseling relationship is built.

I work primarily with individuals related to trauma recovery.  On occasion, I will work briefly with family members as it relates to trauma recovery and its impact on interpersonal relationships. 

Professional Standards: I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in the states of Virginia and Michigan. I received my license to practice independently in Virginia in 2007 and in Michigan in 2021. I adhere to the AACC Code of Ethics which can be reviewed here: https://www.aacc.net/code-of-ethics-2/

Education and Experience: I received my BA in Psychology in 2002 from Piedmont College with a minor in Religion and Philosophy, as well as Special Education.  I received my Master of Arts in Community Counseling from Regent University in 2005.  I Completed my residency under the supervision of an LPC at Compass Youth and Family Services.  I served as a clinical director for four local group homes for at risk teenage boys before starting Lighthouse Counseling in January 2008.  I have training in EMDR, EMI, Play Therapy, Internal Family Systems, treatment of trauma and dissociative disorders, Tf-CBT and Sozo inner healing prayer (not therapy, a therapy adjunct upon request of the client).  I began expanding Lighthouse by taking on clinicians with other specialties in October of 2018.  The goal is to establish a multi-faceted, solidly Christian, clinically excellent therapy team to meet the varying needs of the community of Hampton Roads and beyond.  We have contracts with several organizations that serve the underprivileged including PiN Ministry (serving the homeless), Freekind, Survivor Ventures, Safe House Project and Latisha’s House (all anti-sex trafficking organizations), along with other Christian businesses and churches.

Therapeutic Orientation: Generally speaking, I’m eclectic in my approach, meaning that I take skills from multiple therapeutic approaches and use them when I deem them appropriate. I appreciate parts of CBT, DBT, IFS, EMDR, EMI, Play Therapy, Inner Healing Prayer (Sozo Model) and enjoy using tenets from solution-focused therapy when we set goals. I will tell you more about each of these approaches prior to embarking on the usage of them within therapy. I also often use manualized treatments and bibliotherapy, which means that I may assign you books to read or workbooks to work through as part of our approach.

I will endeavor to provide you with excellent and timely care to help you reach your stated goals as long as I am capable of providing for you.  I will refer out to other providers in any spaces that I am unable to accommodate your needs.

I respect the beliefs of all of my clients. At the same time, the direction I give will be clearly influenced by my Christian beliefs. If you are unsure if this will be a fit for you, or if you have specific questions before we begin our work together, I’m happy to answer those. Simply contact our office and let us know that you’d like to talk with me about this before we get started.