Local Counseling Group, Creative Family Counseling, Welcomes New Therapist and Expands Services to Include LGBTQ and Performance Enhancement Specialties

October 29, 2019 - Creative Family Counseling, a locally owned and operated counseling center in Louisville, Kentucky is excited to announce the practice is continuing to expand. Since opening in February of 2019, Creative Family Counseling has continuously expanded the services offered and therapists available at the practice. Most recently, therapists Leslie Cashion and Bridget Morgan joined the team alongside a second therapy dog, Archer. During this expansion, Creative Family Counseling also expanded its list of offered specialties to include Parent Support and Positive Discipline Workshops.

Today, the team of Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists led by Lacey Ryan is growing even more as Dawn Pendleton, LMFT joins the team of therapists offering counseling services at Creative Family Counseling. In addition to a new team member, Creative Family Counseling is once again expanding its list of offered specialties. Now, those seeking therapy specializing in LGBTQ issues and Performance Enhancement can now find both at Creative Family Counseling.

Dawn Pendleton joins Creative Family Counseling after spending over 20 years in the mental health world. With counseling knowledge that covers a spectrum of client needs, Dawn is ready to start offering her counseling to members of the Louisville, Kentucky community. Dawn's past experience includes working in hospital settings, outpatient community mental health programs, school-based settings, and private practice. Dawn is also an Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)-Certified therapist. EMDR is a treatment rooted in psychotherapy that is designed to alleviate stress connected to traumatic memories. Dawn's EMDR certification allows her to offer EMDR as a way to treat issues such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, and panic.

At Creative Family Counseling, Dawn works with clients age 14 and older through an approach that is both collaborative and systemic. Her specialties include working with clients who have experienced past trauma, have LGBTQ concerns, are high achieving individuals, or need Performance Enhancement. Furthermore, Dawn is currently accepting new clients and has open availability on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. She works with teens, families, and adults and accepts payment through HSA/FSA, cash, or check. Dawn is also able to provide Out of Network (OON) Reimbursement forms for those interested in counseling with OON Benefits and has a limited number of sliding scale openings available each month.

Creative Family Counseling is offering LGBTQ counseling services for the first time thanks to Dawn Pendleton coming on board. Dawn knows firsthand that the journey to self-discovery as a member of the LGBTQ community can be challenging, rewarding, puzzling, and difficult to navigate alone. During this period of many people's lives, mental health can sometimes be put to the side when it should be a primary focus of one's journey. According to the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI), "LGB adults are more than twice as likely as heterosexual adults to experience a mental health condition" and "LGBTQ people are at a higher risk than the general population for suicidal thoughts or suicide attempts."

Knowing these statistics, and many more, Dawn is now offering a safe place within Creative Family Counseling where those working on defining and understanding their sexual orientation or gender identity can process all the emotions that come with self-discovery. Whether you are someone in search of individual support while navigating through this period of your life or a family member of someone in the LGBTQ community, Dawn offers a safe space where individuals and family members alike can work through their emotions.

In addition to LGBTQ counseling services, Creative Family Counseling is now also offering Performance Enhancement counseling services with Dawn's expertise. Performance Enhancement is beneficial for individuals who find that they are unable to meet goals or deadlines, but are unsure of what is standing in their way. A wide variety of people are affected by this phenomenon including artists who are unable to finish their latest projects, athletes and professionals who have yet to reach their next stepping stone in their athletics or careers, and students who are unable to cope with upcoming exams.

There are many reasons that this latent form of procrastination can arise. It could be due to fear of failure, lack of motivation, or panic regarding what comes after the latest achievement. Regardless of the just-out-of-reach goal or the reason for the delay, Performance Enhancement counseling services can help. Performance Enhancement is one of Dawn Pendleton's specialties and she offers this treatment at Creative Family Counseling. Dawn's approach is specific to each client who seeks Performance Enhancement and tailored to help clients meet their goals through an approach that is at the same time collaborative and client-centric.

With the addition of LGBTQ and Performance Enhancement counseling services, the list of specialties offered at Creative Family Counseling continues to grow. The Louisville-based practice also offers a wide variety of other specialized counseling services including:

• EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, is a therapeutic treatment that has evidence-based results proving it effectively relieves strong emotions related to past experiences.

• Positive Discipline Parenting Education
Positive Discipline Parenting Education focuses on establishing mutual respect between parents and children. It also helps to teach parents and educators that kindness and firmness can be used at the same time to achieve change.

• Play Therapy
Play therapy provides children, who communicate much differently than adults, with a safe environment to grow, develop, express, and heal through the world of play. Play therapy is used to address a variety of issues at Creative Family Counseling for children and even some adolescents.

• Spiritually Integrative Counseling
For those who lead a spiritual life, Creative Family Counseling offers Spiritually Integrative Counseling. The spiritually integrated therapists at Creative Family Counseling are able to incorporate their client's spiritual beliefs into their therapy practice.

• Animal Assisted Therapy
Two therapy dogs, Lola and Archer, are available for Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) at Creative Family Counseling. Both of these sweet dogs are certified to provide AAT through Pawsibilities Unleashed and bring a powerful tool that provides peace, safety, and healing to the practice.

Creative Family counseling offers these specialties as well as therapy for children, teenagers, adults, couples, and families. Those interested in learning more about the therapy services and specialties offered at Creative Family Counseling can visit the website. Website visitors can also learn more about the team at Creative Family Counseling, get answers to frequently asked questions, read the active blog maintained by the team at Creative Family Counseling, and stay up-to-date on workshops offered by the practice throughout the year.

About Creative Family Counseling
Creative Family Counseling, owned and operated by Lacey Ryan, LMFT, opened its doors in Louisville, Kentucky in early 2019. Lacey has described her practice as "a group of therapists who share a like-minded approach to working with clients" and as the team and specialties continue to grow, her description remains true. At Creative Family Counseling, clients can expect a therapy experience tailored to their needs. Those in Louisville, Kentucky and the surrounding area who are looking for individual therapy, family therapy, therapy for teenagers or children, or a specialized approach can reach out to Creative Family Counseling or visit the website for more information or to get started today.