Last Revised: 09/16/2020
I want to start by acknowledging the courage it takes to comes to counseling. This is the first, important step in seeking help. This document contains information about my professional background as well as the services offered, prices, and your rights in this process. Please review the document carefully. If you agree to the terms below, please sign and return the form to me. If you have any questions about any of the information in this document, I will be happy to discuss them at our next session.
My Education: I am a graduate student of the Mental Health Counseling Program in the Addictions track from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. I will be graduating from the program in 2021. I obtained two bachelors degrees from The University of North Carolina at Wilmington in Psychology and Spanish in 2011.
My Qualifications: I began working with clients in my internship during my graduate studies at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2020. I have 1 year of professional counseling experience. Throughout this time, I have worked with adults particularly the female population on a variety of mental health issues. Some include, homelessness, addiction, grief and loss, and career concerns/job displacement. The population I am working with are addicts, couples, families, and the incarcerated population.
Although it is not easy to seek professional help, it is my goal to provide a safe space to work through challenging issues while working to improve your quality of life. My theoretical orientation is not specific to one belief. I use a variety of techniques and concepts from various theories while staying true to my core orientation of Existential Therapy, Person-Centered and Reality Theory. From the Existential Theory, I believe that we all make personal choices in our lives that lead us to personal happiness. I believe we are in direct control of our lives and that we have the freedom to choose our path and ultimately our future. These will be issues of the self, personality, philosophy of the mind, meaning of life and personal development. These will be important particularly in individual sessions.
In my family, couples and group counseling I will use Reality Therapy techniques such as focusing on the here-and-now as well as problem-solving techniques and conflict resolution. I believe that connection is powerful and controls many aspects of our lives. This could be family, intimate relationships, friendships or any other relationship in your life. If those connections are weakened or struggling, it affects all other areas of our lives.
I have core beliefs in these particular theories however I strongly believe that all people are different and unique. What is effective with one person may not hold true to the next. I will pull from different techniques and theories depending on the need of the particular client.
Though you are seeking help from me, I want to be clear that this is a therapeutic relationship. I want you to feel empowered to tell me if there is something that you feel is not working or that could make the therapeutic relationship stronger. I cannot promise guaranteed results from our sessions but it is my hope that this process improves aspects of your life in some way. You will get out of this process what you put in and I commit to putting in the time and effort to conduct positive change and I hope that you will do the same.
Restricted Licensure: I am a 2021 Candidate for Master of Arts in Counseling (Addictions Concentration) intern. Therefore, I am under the supervision of a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor by the name of Ms. Asha Sims. Her License # is S4135. She is the owner of Ashakti Wellness &Yoga, LLC. Ms. Asha Sims, MA, LPCS, RYT-200 can be reached at ashaktiwellness@gmail.com or 980.202.1183.