Flourishing Lives Counseling, PLLC

12/23/2025

Here's a reminder that taking care of your mental health starts with small, intentional choices, and it starts with you.

12/23/2025

We've been keeping a secret...Our New Year's resolution at NPL is to see more of you! Beginning in January 2026, we will be open every Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. We're looking forward to more opportunities to serve, play, and engage with our community!

12/22/2025

Happy Holidays from Flourishing Lives Counseling🎄 May 2026 bring in the space for you to shine brightly, experience joy, and have enough rest and rejuvenation for you, both physically and emotionally. Thank you to our clients and community for trusting us with your mental health care. Minus previously scheduled appointments, our office will be closed through 12-26-25 to give our therapists time to recharge.

12/17/2025

❤️❤️❤️

Discernment.
Learning to figure out how to make the best call in the moment.

It's a skill.
It's involves attunement and connection to yourself; being present to your own needs, and aware of what's within your control and what isn't.
And it's not easy. It takes practice, and it takes making mistakes and then reflecting on your lived experiences and how they impacted you, so that you're able to learn from them and apply those learnings to new situations.

Discernment requires self-honesty; being able to own what is yours in a dynamic with another person. To be able to recognize your own limits, your triggers, and to be able to take responsibility when your baggage is at the heart of the conflict you're navigating.

Discernment also requires self-trust. It requires trusting yourself to be able to walk away when you need to, and knowing that you can handle the emotional discomfort that comes from sharing your limits.
It requires listening to your own intuition when something doesn't feel right, or when it feels deeply right and making the call that might not be popular with others.

It takes time, practice, self-attunement, and humility to be willing to improve your discernment; to deepen your self-trust by improving your judgment over time.
It's learning how to be in the present moment; not simply acting out of fear of repeating the past, but learning how to notice what's different this time, too.

Discernment is a practice, and it requires on-going presence and connection to your own heart and body.
Do you trust your ability to discern what's right for you?

If you're interested in improving your connection to self and ability to discern what's right for you, the new cycle of my year long program begins in January, working with Cycle Breakers - those who are working to heal and shift old patterns, and are looking to practice new ways of relating to self & others in a small group of like-minded people. Many people in this year's cohort name this as one of the biggest learnings —
how to stay connected to and trust their own intuition and hearts.
https://theeqschool.co/cycle-breakers

12/04/2025

While self care is important year round, the month of December can be especially hard for some. What type if care do you need? How can you give yourself the care you need? We hope some of these tips will be helpful!

11/26/2025

Grief during the holidays is a common theme in therapy right now. For some the grief is heavy and for others it appears in waves of varying heights and intensity. Tune in to your feelings and know that an increase in grief responses is absolutely normal. By taking care of routines that bring familiarity, structure, and safety one can find themselves able to regulate better. It is also ok to say no to things. No is a complete sentence and can also help one to not become overwhelmed. If you find you’re struggling Flourishing Lives Counseling is here to help support you. Please call us at 828-289-7612 if you need support during this holiday season.

11/24/2025

I believe strongly that counselors and other mental health professionals must stand up and speak out about the professionalism of our careers. Licensed mental health therapists, whether social workers, clinical mental health clinicians, or professional counselors, receive rigorous training in school, rigorous training on a yearly basis after completing a degree, and must maintain a high ethical standard. While calling these degrees nonprofessional for the purpose of student loan programs may seem unharmful at the surface the implications could be far reaching. The implications will impact how many people are able to continue offering these type services, the number of individuals who may be able to receive degrees in this industry, and could even have implications for insurance/other reimbursements for clinicians who not only do these jobs and have this career because of an inherent love for it, but also must survive on the income this field brings.  I can say personally that the degree I earned from Gardner-Webb University was a 3 1/2 year dual degree masters program, coupled with practicum and internships for practical experience, as well as rigorous educational courses to ensure our readiness to be an intentional counselor. Some people may refer to this is nothing but semantics, but for people who have worked as hard as mental health clinicians work and to maintain high ethical standards and adherence to trainings to be an intentional and effective counselor, the semantics can mean everything. We are licensed professionals, and we have worked hard for that  distinction. Mental health clinicians must continue to advocate for themselves in a time in which this field is undervalued. 

10/17/2025

Dialectical thinking is a method of reasoning that involves reconciling opposing perspectives to understand complexity, moving beyond "either/or" thinking to a "both/and" approach. This type of thinking embraces contradiction, improves synthesis by having a more complex understanding, encourages multiple perspectives, and encourages change and balance.

10/09/2025

October self-care tips. What types of self-care with a fall feel appeal to you?

10/09/2025

🎄 Adopt A Family Applications Are Now Available! 🎄

Our Adopt A Family holiday assistance program is back, and applications are now ready at the Steps to HOPE front office!

If you have used our services within the last 3 years, you may be eligible to apply. Let us help make your holidays a little brighter this season. ❤️

📍 Stop by our front office to pick up an application.
📞 To check if you qualify, call 828-894-2340
📧 Or email us at programs@stepstohope.org
_______________________________________

🎄 ¡Las Solicitudes para el Programa "Adopte una Familia" Ya Están Disponibles! 🎄

Nuestro programa de asistencia navideña Adopte una Familia ha regresado, ¡y las solicitudes ya están disponibles en la oficina principal de Steps to HOPE!

Si ha utilizado nuestros servicios en los últimos 3 años, puede ser elegible para aplicar. Permítanos ayudarle a que esta temporada navideña sea un poco más alegre. ❤️

📍 Pase por nuestra oficina para recoger una solicitud.
📞 Para verificar si califica, llame al 828-894-2340
📧 O escríbanos a programs@stepstohope.org

10/08/2025

This October, let's shine a light on Domestic Violence Awareness Month by recognizing the often-hidden signs of abuse. Whether it’s emotional, psychological, physical, or financial, understanding these signs is crucial for providing help and hope. At Steps to Hope, we believe everyone deserves a life free from fear.

Read our latest article on recognizing the signs of domestic abuse and join us in making a difference. 💜

READ MORE:
https://www.stepstohope.org/blog/recognizing-the-signs-of-domestic-abuse

09/30/2025

Fall is a time when we see the earth shed and prepare itself for a season of new growth in spring. Just like nature people oftentimes shed the old and renew their spirits, the beliefs, their friendships, and many other aspects of life. Of importance is shedding beliefs that no longer serve oneself. What “Beleaf” will you shed to bring yourself increased joy?