Meet your LMSW

Hello!

 Welcome to Gabby’s Counseling Corner. I am excited to meet you. I know that virtual therapy can sometimes feel like we can't get to know each other, so I wanted to share a few things about myself to help break down the barrier. 

Personal details 

You already know that I'm a counselor with a master's in social work. What you might not know is that I'm a wife to an EMT. When we married, I got the sweetest bonus baby. She's a sweetheart but absolutely a threenager, so I'm constantly on my toes learning new parenting techniques. We are adding to our family this summer with another sweet girl! 

Before I became a wife and mother, I was a fur mama to a cute chiwinnie named Vixie and two flame point Siamese cat brothers, Mozzie and Sherlock. ♥️

I have lived in Texas my whole life, I love reading fantasy and self-help books of all kinds, and I like to unwind by watching a good TV show or by going on a walk. My faith is the foundation for much of what I do and how I choose to live my personal life. 

My credentials

Now you know a little about me, here is my story professionally! 

I have wanted to be a counselor from the time I was in middle school and desperately wanted someone who saw me and would give me a safe place to be myself. I didn't have that, so I decided I would be that for kids when I grew up. As I was looking at colleges, I discovered social work and how, with a license, you can do so many things, including counseling. I got my Bachelor's in social work from Texas Woman's University and a master's in Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington. I passed my licensing exam in 2021 and have recently begun working toward my clinical license. Fast forward to adulthood and getting married, being a bonus mom, and expecting a baby, all while navigating the ups and downs of life. I’ve begun to see the world from a parent’s lens. Though I understand my past differently, I am still left with the same passion to be the counselor my younger self never got and the support my family never had. 

Who am I as a Therapist

My years working as a site coordinator and then a behavioral teacher have left me with extensive knowledge of students who struggle with various mood, intellectual, and emotional disorders. It is my time with them that has led me to specialize in children ages 8-18 who are struggling academically, socially, behaviorally, and emotionally. I have experience working with anxiety, depression, adhd, and ODD as well. 

Given my history with divorce and now coparenting, I also work with families and children going through divorce. I can provide guidance on coparenting, therapy for the children, and for the whole family. 

It is my experience that to help a child is to help a family, and helping parents helps children. Thus, I also provide parent coaching and family session. 

My therapy style

I predominantly use a strengths-based solution-focused approach that puts clients in the driver's seat of their therapy journey. I draw on TF-CBT when working with clients who are processing trauma. I believe that a person's problems do not stem from just one area of life; therefore, our healing should not include one area of life. Which is why I also pull on the person-in-environment framework as well as neuropsychology to provide a wide range of individualized solutions for each client.

Next steps

If you think I am the therapist for you or you have any questions, please contact me in one of the following ways! I cannot wait to work with you or your child.