Nexus Counseling LLC

07/24/2025

This is a snap dragon flower. I am NOT a green thumb, but I am learning. This is the first year I have had flowers that bloomed. This beauty was knocked over during a storm and it didn’t look like it was going to make it. It was just dirt in a container, until it wasn’t. I kept watering it, despite it looking like a mess. I had hope that it would survive. I am so happy to say that not only did it survive, it sprouted into three separate blooms, it came back stronger! I can’t help but look at this flower, like I do us humans. We are so wounded at times, so beat up by life that we can barely get through the day. We have a hard time believing that things will work out. We struggle to see the good in ourselves and in the world around us. It is hard for us to show up and do the work, to take risk. Slowly, but surely if we take small steps towards change, we begin to heal. We start to nurture the parts of self that need it most, we BLOOM! It is an amazing process. I am lucky to have a job that allows me to have a front row seat to that process, an up close and personal view of that journey. What a privilege! It is a beautiful view, from my back deck or my office chair, they both afford me a view of the most beautiful transitions.

06/19/2025

My favorite therapeutic approach, that I use most often in session, and resonates with me both personally and professionally is CBT = Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. I describe it as “Our head is not our friend!” It starts deep within us at a core belief. Then makes it way to a set of skewed perspectives that say we are not safe, loved, enough, etc. Those create negative, anxious, fear-driven thoughts that lead to feelings, behaviors and ultimately negative outcomes. What I love about this approach is the power we find when we realize that we can change it! Even going all the way back to the core beliefs. Sometimes we pick up messages along the way that were never meant to be ours. I believe we come into this world a blank slate. A beautiful soul with purpose and potential, much like a blank canvas (I am a visual learner) and other people’s paint is splattered onto our canvas before we have had a chance to paint our own story. Other people’s beliefs, messages, or perspectives, etc. are “thrown” onto us and ultimately our lesson is to “unlearn” the ones that are no longer serving us well and find our true selves again, our authentic selves. I LOVE this stuff! It is not just CBT, there is a mix of some other therapeutic approaches in there ~ but seriouslly, this is the stuff I get really excited about in therapy. It truly changes peoples lives! It changed mine :)

06/12/2025

What I have learned about myself over the years ❤️

05/22/2025

This is an UPDATE, but also a THANK YOU NOTE to everyone who has been following my practice, especially my adventure the last 6 months, leaping out into the great unknown on my own!

I am Accepting NEW clients on HEADWAY (I will include the direct link to my provider portal below) I am so excited that I found them and feel optimistic that they will be the platform I ultimately choose to stay with longterm.

https://care.headway.co/providers/dee-couchman?utm_source=pem&utm_medium=direct_link&utm_campaign=133690

I have been in the mental health and addictions field for over 25 years and have owned my own Private Practice for the past four years. I recently decided to leave my fulltime job in the community with all its security and benefits, lol to dedicate my time and energy on my practice.

It has been a crazy beautiful ride! I have learned so much about myself. I am not as organized as I thought and multi-tasking is way harder than you think! I have been managing 3-4 calendars, returning phone calls and emails, and handling the marketing piece. I don’t think I relaized that just handling the administrative piece is a full time job! It was intense and took about three months for me to find some balance. I dropped the ball a lot. I joke about how I have handled that piece and tell my cclients I would fire ME under different circumstances, lol. I have a good sense of humor, so that has helped!

This experience has pushed me out of my comfort zone and I have grown in ways I didn’t relaize I could, or that I really needed to! I feel more confident and more relaxed at the same time. I am enjoying what I do and having fun rediscovering topics that make me feel passionate and excited, remembering my “why,” creating an atmospshere in my office space that is warm and welcoming but still very much a representation of who I am, being creative, continuing to be my authentic self so that I can encourage my clients to do the same, and always remembering to have FUN while staying the course! It has been an EPIC 6 months! I can’t wait to see what the second half of this year brings 😉

THANK YOU to everyone that has suppoorted me during this process. You got to watch me and my practice grow. I connected with online platforms, started taking insurance, leased office space of my own, put official signs up over that door, I took a leap of faith when I chose ME but it was ALL worth it, I did my own grassroots marketing, created postcards and business cards on Canva and had a limited budget and BIG faith, I started my marketing by word of mouth and my reputation and here I am BOOKED solid!

I have a schedule that every therapist dreams of! I set my own schedule, get paid well and have days off to spend with my beautiful grandsons! I can take a long weekend with my husband (aka “boyfriend”) anytime I want because I can approve that request, lol. It is a DREAM! In the end, the balance and JOY I was chasing was worth every single moment of discomfort!

I can not say it enough…..THANK YOU for believeing in me and supporting me through all the ups and downs of this adventure! I appreciate it and will be forever grateful!
Sincerely,
Dee

Dee Couchman, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Licensed Clinical Addiction Counselor. MSEd (Master of Science in Education), Indiana University - Purdue University Fort Wayne. Accepts Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Carelon Behavioral Health, Cigna, Quest Behavioral Health.

03/05/2025

I have always loved this ❤️ it fits me well as a therapist!

02/12/2025

How sweet is this?! I recently started collaborating with Growtherapy.com to get paneled with insurance. They are helping me with referrals for my private practice. I received this beautiful plant in the mail as their way of saying thank you and celebrating 🙌🏻 our new partnership.

02/06/2025

The joys of being your own BOSS ~ you can work from home, wear whatever you want, jam out to the Doobie Brothers (which makes late night charting so much more bearable) and your partner-in-crime is your fur baby! Life is so good ❤️

02/05/2025

YOUR TONE OF VOICE MATTERS.

“When we speak to someone, our tone of voice carries more weight than we might think. Even if our intentions are good, the way we say things can linger in someone's heart long after the words have been spoken. A harsh or careless tone can echo in their mind, replaying moments that may hurt more than we ever intended. Those moments can be jarring, leaving behind an emotional bruise that's hard to forget.

It's so important to be mindful of not just what we say, but how we say it. The tone we use, the approach we take, and the words we choose can either lift someone up or tear them down. Everyone you meet is carrying something within them-struggles, fears, hopes-things we might never see.

So, in every conversation, choose to be kind. Speak with empathy and warmth, because your words have the power to heal, to comfort, and to show that you care. After all, the way we make others feel is often what they remember the most.”

02/04/2025

🙌❤️