Jesie Steffes
Operations Director, LPC
Grief and Loss, Traumatic Losses,Disordered Eating and Body Image, EMDR
I believe wholeheartedly that everyone can heal and that there is goodness in this world. Experiences like grief and loss, trauma, and emotional suffering can cause us to doubt our ability to heal and can prevent us from experiencing that goodness. My work as a counselor is to come alongside my clients and to help them see the good again-both the goodness in the world, and the goodness in themselves.
As a Certified Grief Counselor, my focus lies on helping clients develop effective coping skills in the midst of intense despair as a result of their loss. I use a mixture of practical coping skills and deeper levels of processing to ensure my clients are able to function day to day while diving into the work of healing. As a body respect advocate, I work diligently with my clients to enter into the brave work of reclaiming their relationship with their bodies and rejecting diet culture's notions around the pursuit of perfectionism. I work in collaboration with my clients to reclaim the joy in movement, food, and body awareness that we can lose when we engage in society's rigid body standards. Through meaningful relationship, thoughtful interventions, and plenty of humor, I create a safe space where my clients can truly heal and find meaning in their experiences. I understand personally, that the decision to pursue healing requires courage, readiness, and commitment. I am honored to walk alongside you through this soulful work.
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Brooke Small
Founder and Clinical Director, LPC
Developmental and Attachment Trauma, Religious and Spiritual Trauma, Women’s Empowerment, EMDR
I'm the director and founder of Riverbend Counseling. My passion and specialty lie in helping those who may have past trauma that impacts their ability to live the full and meaningful lives they would like. Specifically, I work with traumas that have happened early in one's life (developmental trauma) and trauma within significant relationships (attachment trauma).
Through creating a safe and genuine connection with my clients, we are able to work collaboratively to set goals, reduce the distress of daily life that often accompanies trauma, and rapidly improve overall functioning. When approaching trauma therapy, EMDR therapy or any other healing process, I view it as a whole and encompassing work - integrating both mind and body in how my clients respond and adapt to life events. I am trauma-informed and work through three specific lenses: toxic stress (the effect stress has on our bodies,) neurobiology (how our brain and body respond to stress/trauma,) and attachment (how we learn as little people to be safe in the world.) Working through these lenses allows me to consider what has happened to my clients to impact their functioning, not “what’s wrong with them.” My clinical experience has taught me that when we actively seek to address these areas of life, clients feel empowered and equipped to move through trauma and engage in their life with purpose, meaning, and fulfillment.
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Jeanne Wickham, LPC, LAC
Addictions, Trauma, Somatic Experiencing, Emotional and Nervous System Regulation
My approach to counseling is simple. I believe that people are capable of remarkable change once empowered with compassion and acceptance of the world and our relationship to it. While it is impossible to change past trauma or negative experiences, it is possible for us to change the relationship we have to our past, with ourselves and with each other.
Utilizing emotional regulation, containment skills, anchoring into your body through sensation, and coping skills that increase self-soothing and mindfulness, we will collaborate together to find a better you; the person you always thought you would be. I specialize in treatment of addiction, gentle and gradual resolution of trauma and PTSD, depression, anxiety, grief, and the uncertainty of life. If you have lost yourself, your sense of meaning, or your purpose in life through transition or stagnation, let’s work together to get you unstuck so that you may live a life in balance.
Lynnae Gillard, LCSW
Children and Youth, Collaborative Parental Support, Maternal Mental Health, EMDR for adults.
As a Certified Youth Mental Health Specialist, I have made it my work to partner with young people in learning to trust themselves, equipping them to move bravely through difficulty and transition.
By creating an approachable space and trustful relationship I am able to guide children, adolescents, and young adults as they grow and uncover their authentic voice.
I know that the “work of childhood” is actually play, and through imaginative and creative therapeutic outlets, kids are able to realize practical tools to help manage experiences like anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, disordered eating, grief, and trauma. By incorporating interventions like play therapy, art therapy, and EMDR, I am able to work with clients with a broad spectrum of experiences from developmentally expected stressors to more complex presentations of trauma in childhood. In addition to my work with children, I am able to support clients across the lifespan, facilitating deep healing and fostering meaningful, long-term change for my clients experiencing difficulty with disordered eating, emotion regulation, periods of transition, low self-esteem, traumatic life events, anxiety, and depression. Working with me, my clients can expect to be empowered and encouraged to navigate all of life’s experiences while holding true to their deepest values.
Lateka Salley, LCSW, LAC
BIPOC Experiences and Racial Trauma, Body Liberation, Somatic Experiencing, EMDR
Many of my clients seek therapy as a way of creating a safe and supportive space to access their inner strengths and deep, intuitive, knowing. I hold a deep and solid belief that what is needed for healing is already within yourself, my work as a therapist is to help you uncover that power.
My professional focus lies in cultivating healing within both the BIPOC community and working with individuals in marginalized bodies. My work centers around a deep awareness of the impact of intersectional identities in our societal environment. As a Social Worker, my belief is rooted in the understanding that we, as individuals are both impacted by our environments, and have a deep power to impact and improve our own environments. Through both individual sessions, and group facilitation, I realize my goal of increasing access for marginalized folks for quality mental health care. Simply put, I help marginalized folks find healing through empowerment, a sense of belonging, intentional trauma-focused work (body trauma, attachment trauma, and racial trauma) while holding space for the reality of the daily need for practical coping. My hope is that through my work, folks are better able to realize their own worth, that they feel seen and heard, and are empowered to gain the skills to improve their lives. I believe my role as a therapist is to walk alongside those doing the brave work of healing. To provide clarity and support as clients navigate the impact of the environment they’ve been nurtured in, and to collaborate in creating new and meaningful purpose in the lives of my clients.
Julie Hall, Social Media Coordinator
Social Media, Content Creation and Distribution, Website
I believe deeply in the power of connection. We are all connected and even though we have very unique struggles there is something powerful in knowing you aren't alone.
I love the quote from Fred Rogers that says,
"Anything that's human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary. The people we trust with that important talk can help us know that we are not alone." Through our podcast, our website, and our social media presence we are trying to help you feel less alone and help you access professional resources even if you are unable or don't feel ready to begin counseling. Doing this work has been a huge gift to me and helps me tackle my own challenges every day. I love that I can be part of a community that is seeking to improve mental health, relationships, parenting, and overall well being and that I get to learn from Riverbend's amazing therapists everyday!
