Who We Are
Here at Valley Counseling, we adhere to the belief that humans are hard-wired for safe, secure relationships and that we function best when we are part of a safe, inclusive, and nurturing community.
Life is hard. Most of us have been hurt in relationships with significant others. Sometimes the significant other is a parent, a partner, a sibling, a friend, a co-worker. Other times we experience wounding from a larger system such as our family, our workplace, our faith community, our friend community, health providers, or even the culture at large.
As a result of these woundings, our mental health suffers. Our mental health includes not only our thoughts and behaviors, but also our ability to feel emotionally safe in the world. It impacts our physical health as our bodies intuitively engage in the survival strategies of fight, flight, and freeze, releasing cortisol and adrenaline in ways that often produce experiences such an anxiety and depression.
Ultimately, all of this impacts our relationships …
It has been said that aloneness is the root to all psychopathology. This makes sense when we understand that humans are wired for secure attachment. When we don’t have this, and we are suffering the pain of aloneness, things go wrong in the body that adversely affect our mental health and well-being.
Secure attachment can be difficult to find in the unsettling and tumultuous world in which we live.
Our clinicians adhere to a client-centered philosophy that centers you, the client as the expert on your life. We consider it an honor to come alongside you, as a safe “other”, as you begin to explore the wounds you have experienced and find a way to healing. We believe this healing starts in a relational context with your therapist.
Relationships hurt us AND relationships heal us. This is the cornerstone to how we work the courageous people that come here for support. Our clinical staff is trained in research-based modalities and interventions that have been proven to create an environment conducive to internal healing we need and helping us find ways to move toward the safe people we need in order to grow and thrive in our daily lives.
One of these modalities is Emotionally-Focused Therapy …
EFT, founded by Dr. Sue Johnson. If you are interested in learning more about this method and would like to read the research outcomes, you can visit the ICEEFT website. EFT was originally designed to work with couples in distress. It has been adapted to work with both individuals and family systems as well.
We recognize the courage it takes to ask for help. We honor the reality that reaching out for counseling is not easy and can even be scary at first. Our counselors strive to create safe spaces and provide their clinical skills in a way that prioritizes your sense of comfort and ease for optimal healing and growth.
