My name is Wesley, and I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor. I've dedicated my career to helping people just like you navigate through life's challenges and overcome the obstacles they face along the way.
In the weeks, months, and sometimes years after a major life change, it's normal to feel lost, stuck, or misunderstood. While I know that there's nothing anyone can say to take away your pain, I can walk with you on this difficult journey. I can help you process your thoughts and feelings so that they feel less overwhelming. I can help you find peace, as well as hope for what a good life for you can look like.
Click here to learn more about my specialization as a professional grief companion.
If you have been traumatized by an event in your life, you know that it can have a major impact on your emotions, thoughts, relationships, and physical well-being long after you survived the event itself. Traumas can range from major disasters to seemingly small things you encountered growing up that have stuck with you. I primarily utilize a type of therapy called EMDR to help clients find true healing from trauma and have been trained in an EMDRIA-accredited program.
Click here to learn more about my specialization in treating trauma with EMDR.
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Effects of trauma and distressing life events
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Grief and loss
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Decreasing or eliminating stress
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Finding peace and meaning
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Navigating times of personal growth and change
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Many other mental health challenges
When you are working with me β regardless of what you are up against β I am present with you, really listening, and respecting you as the expert of your own life. I seek to see you for who you are, and employ effective approaches that best fit you.
Morning, afternoon, or evening? Online, in-office, or outside? However you're most comfortable, I'm ready to get started sometime this week.
Emotions 101
Importance and Urgency
Tips for Loved Ones: From a Therapist's Perspective
Mon: 11:00 am β 8:00 pm
Tue: 9:00 am β 5:00 pm
Wed: 9:00 am β 5:00 pm
Thur: 11:00 am β 8:00 pm
Defining "Therapy"
Therapy at Growing Forward β also referred to as its full term "psychotherapy" or as "talk therapy" β simply means the treatment that is used to heal or alleviate problems that a client is having. This treatment almost always involves a dialogue β talking together. Another main way of implementing therapy is by putting techniques into practice. These techniques can vary widely, depending on the specific person and their goal. The client might practice the agreed-upon technique in the office with the therapist, or out in their daily lives, whether within their own mind or while interacting with others. Please note that this definition is extremely broad, which is necessary when defining a treatment that can look so different from one client to the next. The goal of therapy generally has to do with changing or reframing how a client approaches something within their mind.
Counseling Compared to Other Therapeutic Disciplines
In the state of Michigan, there are basically four types of professionals who can legally work as and call themselves psychotherapists: Counselors, Psychologists, Social Workers, and Psychiatrists. Professionals within any of these four backgrounds have extensive training, including a master's degree or higher, and should be more than sufficiently qualified to work as therapists. However, the education of each type of professional has an area on which they focus more than other disciplines.
Psychologists usually have the most training in the scientific study of the mind and individual behavior. Social Workers generally have the broadest training, with a strong focus on social services and connecting clients with resources. Psychiatrists are trained as medical doctors as well as therapists, and, because their profession is in such high demand, the vast majority end up focusing most of their efforts on prescribing psychotropic medications. Counselors, of the four, receive an education with the most specific focus as therapists.
While any of these four may be very adept at being therapists, at scientific study, and at utilizing social resources β and while individual practitioners within any of the disciplines will have a unique passion and set of skills β it can help to be aware of the "specialty" that professionals in each discipline have learned so that you can connect with someone whose background best suits your needs.
I do not accept insurance at Growing Forward. There are six big reasons why I believe this model is best both for me and for the clients I see.
If you have out-of-network insurance benefits you would like to use, many PPO insurance plans can reimburse you for part or all of the session cost. There are two ways to do this:
Please note that payment for services is due on the date of the appointment.
Intake session = $50 (70 minutes)
All sessions after that = $130 (50 minutes)
The value you will get for investing in therapy is much higher than many other things that we spend money on throughout our lives. Getting good therapy can lead to dramatic improvements to your mental well-being, which can also affect your physical well-being and other areas of your life. The things you take with you from your therapy sessions can help you navigate life's challenges for many years to come.
Before we get to the first session, we will have been in touch to schedule the appointment, and I will have sent you the intake paperwork to look over. This paperwork details important policies for you to know about. When we meet for the initial session, after introductions, I will review the paperwork with you and answer any questions that you have to make sure you understand everything and agree to those policies.
Besides ensuring that you feel informed about counseling at Growing Forward, my primary goals for the first session are for me to have a foundational understanding of the problem(s) or goal(s) you're bringing to counseling, and for us to agree on the direction in which we will head to work on fixing the problem(s) or meet the goal(s). Because of the extra time it takes to go over policies and to get that initial understanding of your challenges and your counseling goals, the first session is 70 minutes long, as opposed to 50 minutes that other sessions will last.
At the core of my counseling approach is the therapeutic relationship that you and I have. The primary things that I will bring to that relationship β besides my experience and training and the things I've learned from those β are:
Additional ideas that I will almost always draw from with clients are:
Outside of what I described above, you can expect me to be very flexible about who you are and what works for you, so my approach could look very different from client to client.
My specialties as a counselor are addressing grief and trauma. You can learn more about specific ways that I approach grief by clicking here. You can learn about my approach to trauma by clicking here.
I'd be happy to! These are two other services that I'm happy to make myself available for. Click Here to check out my page about these services.
Mon: 11:00 am β 8:00pm
Tue: 9:00 am β 5:00pm
Wed: 9:00 am β 5:00pm
Thur: 11:00 am β 8:00pm
Growing Forward Counseling
191 North Ave
Mt. Clemens, MI 48051, US