Wellness Counseling

What is Wellness Counseling?

Wellness Counseling is the science and art of helping people change their lifestyle to move toward a state of optimal health. Optimal health is defined as a balance of physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and intellectual health. You might hear me refer to these as "dimensions" of wellness.

How does a Wellness Counselor differ from a Wellness Coach?

Unlike Health or Wellness Coaches, who may or may not be certified and may come from a variety of professional backgrounds, Wellness Counselors have a minimum of a Master's Degree, have specialized training and a certification recognized by the state board, and have a background in behavioral health. I received my Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Xavier University and obtained my certification in Wellness Counseling from The Wellness Learning Group in Columbus, Ohio.

Who would benefit from Wellness Counseling?

If you feel stressed out, unbalanced, anxious, depressed, or are having difficulty adjusting to a life change, Wellness Counseling may be appropriate for you. Wellness Counseling looks at all the areas of your life and harnesses your existing strengths to help bring increased balance and well-being to those areas that may be suffering in some way. Wellness Counseling may also be appropriate for those who have co-occurring mental health and chronic disease or wish to make lifestyles changes, such as improving diet or increasing exercise.

What can I expect a Wellness Counseling session to look like?

Our first session will be spent getting to know each other and gathering information in order to be able to develop goals for treatment. I may give you an assessment to determine which wellness domains (physical, emotional, spiritual, etc.) we might need to work on in therapy. We will work together to come up with measurable, achievable goals so that you can begin to see improvements quickly. I will employ a number of treatment interventions to help move you towards those goals, including but not limited to practicing mindfulness and learning how to correct unhelpful thinking that may lead to mental health symptoms. If warranted, I may refer you for complementary treatment or alternative medicine in addition to therapy, such as therapeutic massage, acupuncture, yoga, or Reiki.