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5 therapists available in Charleston
As someone who understands how it feels to be overwhelmed, stuck, or not like yourself, I know the struggle of trying to navigate ...
About
As someone who understands how it feels to be overwhelmed, stuck, or not like yourself, I know the struggle of trying to navigate that journey alone, and the relief that can come from having someone to talk to.
I am a licensed professional counselor (LPC) with 8 years of experience supporting clients navigating anxiety, depression, and life transitions. I am passionate about helping individuals move toward healthier emotional patterns, stronger self-awareness, and more meaningful well-being. I work with children, adolescents, and adults and specialize in helping clients manage persistent anxiety and challenging emotional symptoms.
I earned my master’s degree in human services counseling from Liberty University. My approach integrates cognitive behavioral therapy with psychodynamic principles to support both practical skill building and deeper insight. This balanced foundation helps clients understand the roots of their challenges while learning tools to shift unhelpful thoughts and behaviors.
I know reaching out can feel overwhelming, and I honor the strength it takes to begin this process. I aim to create a safe, grounded space where you feel heard and supported as we work through your concerns together. I look forward to meeting you, listening to what you need, and helping you take meaningful steps toward relief and lasting change.
Education and training
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Having journeyed through adversity, loss, and personal challenges, I have gained a profound empathy for those who feel defeated or...
Having journeyed through adversity, loss, and personal challenges, I have gained a profound empathy for those who feel defeated or lost yet remain determined to awaken their inner strength and develop new skills to navigate the ever-changing roller coaster of life.
I am a licensed professional counselor (LPC) with 4 years of experience supporting individuals through life transitions, emotional challenges, and moments of uncertainty. I create a warm, safe, and validating space where clients feel grounded, understood, and empowered. I draw from my experience working in private practice and community settings to help clients navigate trauma, anxiety, depression, grief, relationship stress, and issues related to identity, self-worth, and family dynamics.
I earned my master’s in clinical mental health counseling from South University. I utilize approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy to support meaningful change. I tailor my approach to each person’s needs and goals.
I believe every person holds the capacity to heal, grow, and reclaim their sense of clarity and purpose. My goal is to walk alongside you with compassion, honesty, and encouragement as you navigate both challenges and breakthroughs. You deserve support that honors your strengths, your story, and your journey. I would be honored to work with you.
If you are feeling stuck, stressed out, lost, anxious, or depressed, I want you to know that there is hope and I am here to help....
If you are feeling stuck, stressed out, lost, anxious, or depressed, I want you to know that there is hope and I am here to help.
Edward Johnsen is a Licensed Professional Counselor with 10 years of experience working in the mental health field. He is passionate about helping adults of all ages and backgrounds address their unique challenges and live more fulfilled lives. Edward specializes in working with individuals who struggle with anxiety, depression, trauma, men's issues, relationship issues, substance use disorders, and major life transitions.
Edward completed his Master of Arts (MA) degree in Clinical-Counseling Psychology at The Citadel Graduate College. He has over 10 years of experience working in a variety of settings including a wilderness residential program, in-patient hospitals, and outpatient clinics. While knowledgeable of mental health treatments, Edward knows that you are the expert on you. He is committed to exploring your concerns together and coming up with a solution that you are most comfortable with.
Whatever challenges you may be facing, you do not have to face them alone. Edward is confident that he can help you gain new perspectives and techniques to support you on your journey. If you are ready to do the work, you will be amazed at how capable you are to tackle the obstacles ahead. Reach out and schedule an appointment with him today.
I am here to provide support, teach skills, and assist you with navigating through life challenges....
I am here to provide support, teach skills, and assist you with navigating through life challenges.
Luciana Smalls is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) who has 7 years of experience in the mental health field. Luciana enjoys working with individuals, families, and couples dealing with stress, life challenges, grief, and communication challenges. She has diverse experience working with individuals and families with addiction, self-esteem, anxiety, foster care, kinship care, military families, medical challenges, stress, and time management.
Luciana completed her Bachelor of Science (BS) in Human Services at Springfield College, graduating with honors. She completed her Master of Science (MS) in Professional Mental Health Counseling at Webster University.
Luciana has a mission to help individuals create a healthy lifestyle from utilizing community resources, learning tools, becoming adaptive, and using assertive communication.
Drawing from my journey with anxiety, self-esteem, and postpartum challenges, I am dedicated to helping both men and women find st...
Drawing from my journey with anxiety, self-esteem, and postpartum challenges, I am dedicated to helping both men and women find strength and balance in their lives.
Leanee Marsh is a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate with 1 year of experience in counseling and 6 years of experience as an educator. Her ideal clients are individuals and couples who feel overwhelmed by anxiety, struggle with self-worth, or are navigating the emotional complexities and adjustments in life. Her clients seek compassionate support to regain confidence, develop coping skills, and build a healthier, more balanced mindset. They grow within a safe, nonjudgmental space, where Leanee provides them with a supportive environment to explore their feelings and challenges, allowing them to flourish.
Leanee earned a Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Walden University and is also a National Certified Counselor. Her counseling sessions incorporate mindfulness, motivational interviewing, coping skills development, and emotional regulation to help clients build resilience and self-awareness.
When you're ready to take the first step towards improving your well-being and personal growth, reaching out for support can make all the difference. Let's connect and begin your journey toward healing and empowerment because you deserve support that meets you where you are.
You deserve dedicated time with a mental health professional — it can be life-changing.
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My go-to approach to family therapy is to assess and understand the current family dynamics. The goal of family therapy is often to improve the functioning of the family unit as opposed to one individual person in the family. I combine family therapy techniques in order to reduce any conflict within the family, helping them learn better ways to communicate with one another and allowing the family the space to begin working on healthy problem-solving skills. My role as the family therapist is to foster better relationships within the family unit.
Tools that I teach in family therapy include:
I will know a family is making meaningful progress when they have displayed healthy ways of communicating with one another, are expressing emotions, have minimal conflict, and show the ability to support one another through challenges.
In their personal time, families can supplement family therapy by making time for one another, planning activities that all members can enjoy, being open about the emotions they are feeling, and setting healthy boundaries within the family unit.
To prepare for family therapy, please make sure that all members of the family are aware of the appointment beforehand. Blindsiding a family member about therapy can seem like an attack, and we do not want to shame anyone from coming to therapy. Feel free to begin to think about goals that you want to accomplish with your family in order for things to get better.
Family therapy helps families resolve conflicts and strengthen their relationships. It is led by qualified mental health professionals like psychologists, licensed professional counselors (LPCs), and licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs) who have extensive training in family dynamics and group communication.
Thriveworks family therapists in Charleston, SC usually begin by asking what everyone’s goals are for family counseling. Family members may need help with very specific issues or with general relationship functioning. But there are three main purposes in family counseling: to educate, to counsel, and to strengthen. Thriveworks also offers online family therapy and in-person services, so you may all meet in an office together or join a video call from your home depending on everyone’s location and availability.
The most effective form of Family therapy will often depend on the family itself, as there are many types of family therapy for therapists to use as they see fit in order to best meet the needs of their clients. However, one of the most commonly used types of family therapy is structural family therapy (SFT). SFT focuses specifically on family dynamics and interactions, looking at how they shape the relationships and structure present in the family. It can be effectively used to treat a variety of concerns.
This answer often looks different to each family that starts family therapy. However, some signs that your family might need to consider family counseling include frequent fights or misunderstandings, constant tension, experiencing loss, behavioral issues, marital issues, divorce, and blended family issues, among others.
In family therapy, therapists will often start by asking questions and assessing individual and family dynamics. From there, they may employ therapeutic techniques such as structured family therapy, CBT, strategic family therapy, and more depending on the present concerns and conflicts. From there, a therapist will work to open lines of communication between family members and facilitate emotional healing and growth.
Family therapy can be incredibly successful, with some studies reporting a success rate of almost 90% for improving participants’ emotional and mental health, and around 66% for improving their physical health.
Thriveworks therapists in Charleston, SC offer both online family therapy and in-person family therapy. We encourage you to choose the option that works best for you.
Family therapy is usually short term and solution-focused, with most families accomplishing their goals in 12 sessions or fewer. However, it can also last for longer if the probles at hand are more complex — and that’s okay, too.
When each family member contributes in a meaningful way and each member’s needs are met, families can be wonderful. But everyone knows families do not always work like that. Achieving harmony is challenging, and at times, it can feel nearly impossible. Here are just a few of the ways life can throw families off balance:
The family therapists at Thriveworks Charleston know that every family needs a little help along the way. Our counselors love helping family work through their challenges together, preserve every individual’s mental health, and grow closer throughout the process. If this sounds like something you’re interested in or could benefit from, reach out to Thriveworks Charleston today.
Family therapy is built upon the foundational idea that people’s behaviors, beliefs, and identities are developed within their families of origin. Therefore, understanding an individual fully involves understanding their family.
Family structural therapy and family systems therapy are the most well-known techniques used in family therapy. These techniques explore how a family copes with stress, offers comfort, sets expectations, and defines their values. These family functions significantly impact each individual member’s life. Other mitigating factors in a family’s dynamic may be each member’s love language, personality type, and/or birth order. Understanding each person and understanding the family as a whole may help the family work together to overcome life’s challenges.
The goal of therapy is for families to experience interdependence—i.e., each member is respected both individually and within the group. Strong individuals may mean strong families, and strong families may mean strong individuals.
These are only a few of the reasons clients have started family therapy at Thriveworks Charleston:
There is no easy path to overcome these common challenges, but when families are ready to work together, they can acknowledge unhealthy patterns, empathize with one another, and find a way to thrive. Let us help. Reach out to Thriveworks Charleston.
The therapists at Thriveworks Charleston understand that families face real challenges that could tear them apart. But our therapists also understand that with the right support and guidance, families can grow closer together.
Thriveworks Charleston is ready to help. When you call to make an appointment for family therapy, a scheduling specialist will answer your call. We have convenient appointment times available, including nights and weekends. We also work with many insurance plans! This is part of our mission to best serve all of our clients. Call Thriveworks Charleston to set up your appointment for family therapy when you are ready. We’ll be here.
Includes individual, couples, child/ teen, & family therapy
Includes reducing symptoms with medication & management
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