About
About Me
I am licensed as an LPC-Supervisor (Texas license #20301) and graduated from the University of Texas-San Antonio with an M.A. in Counseling in 2004. I am a member of American Mensa, and in my spare time, I enjoy time with my family, my Chiweenie dog Timmy, and taking cold water swims at Barton Springs and Deep Eddy.
Education
Master of Arts in Counseling
University of Texas
Specialties
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Trauma Therapy/EMDR
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Relationship Counseling/Partner Issues
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Managing Life Transitions
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Anxiety, Depression, and Bipolar Disorder
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ADHD
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LGBTQ Coming Out to Family and Other Issues
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Geriatric Concerns
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Christian Counseling
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Religious and Spiritual Counseling
At Pedersen Counseling
Counseling is a place for truthful conversations. And truthful conversations are redeeming. Through examination, life becomes richer — a place for exploring meaning, finding answers, and building a life worth living.
No one ever comes to counseling to be told they are doing fine. A good counselor’s perceptiveness, empathy, and knowledge base of what “what works” drive the process. Counseling becomes a place to face fears, sort traumas, accept life on life’s terms, and change what you can. A good counselor is an advisor, a confidante, a comfort, a sage, and an ally in your advancement.
When you face your struggles and overcome them, there is more to you. More of you is unlocked. Your ancestors’ traits and abilities become activated in your DNA, growing new neural networks in your mind, just as muscles are built when you push yourself physically.
At Pedersen Counseling, I am about helping you get there.
Doing What Works
Ready to roll up your sleeves and make a transformative shift in your life? Acknowledging that our personal history often obscures rather than informs who we are, I specialize in redefining perception: assisting individuals with trauma recovery & couples with intimacy-rebuilding with insight and useful techniques for bypassing roadblocks. I help people hone their anger management skills and address the flip side of the coin: initiating the healing process after someone has endured physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. I am trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) as a technique to treat PTSD, and I assess trauma through the dual lenses of spirituality and culture. I also use CBT, DBT, and motivational interviewing in my therapeutic processes.
"Stuck" situations require creative solutions! Solving a problem in isolation isn't easy, which is why collaboration with an experienced counselor can prove invaluable. The details of each person’s thinking may be varied and unique in every case, but I believe that what is really important is the sense of being enough…sufficient…responsible…capable as yourself…on top of the situation. When the work goes well (which certainly is the intention) the outcome will be the same: an increase in the sense of one’s own ability to manage life, and a feeling of growth and empowerment.
I have a clear approach to counseling with people and it relates to what I see as the ideal outcome of such work. The highest goal, the gold standard of good counseling, is an increase in client morale, a significant growth of feeling competent and confident to work with the feelings and situations that brought you to counseling in the first place. A good counseling relationship has worked when one hears, “You know, I think I can handle this now. I feel a lot better and think I know what to work on and what to do.”
As a counselor, I strive to encourage a therapeutic connection that serves as a "secure base", enabling you to challenge your misconceptions about yourself and refocus on your strengths. I believe that accessing new experiences in the context of a therapeutic relationship can help us rewire our brains — and our lives.