Serene Pathways Mental Health Counseling , PLLC

04/24/2025

We're excited to share our new healing space with you, nestled in the heart of downtown Saratoga Springs, where our compassionate therapists are dedicated to helping you unlock your full potential and cultivate a deeper sense of well-being.

Learn more 🌱 ⬇️
Serenepathwaysmhc.com

04/17/2025

Please join us in welcoming Susan to our team! With her warm, humanistic approach and impressive experience, she's the perfect fit. New client opportunities available now - both virtually and in-person at our Saratoga office!

Read below to learn more about Susan and her therapeutic approach!

My name is Susan Bates, and I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. I am specialized in working with those struggling with anxiety, relational issues and relational trauma, people pleasing, codependency, perfectionism, and self-esteem issues. Although I have experience working with a range of presenting problems from my time working in a college counseling center, facilitating skills work in a PROS program and working with those involved with the legal system.

I have an individualized approach to therapy, primarily grounded in humanistic therapy. My priority is meeting you where you are at, honoring the human in you and letting you show up in your most authentic form and hold space for all parts of who you are without judgement. I see our relationship as a window into your relationships outside the therapy room, and the therapeutic relationship as an opportunity to facilitate healing. I ensure this is a space that you can heal by working from a trauma informed and culturally competent lens, in which I prioritize your feelings of emotional safety, emphasize communication and collaboration with me, and foster authenticity in the therapy room. I will incorporate other elements of my training and experience including, MBCT (Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy), DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy), and EFT (Emotion Focused Therapy), as well as other modalities and techniques, to tailor your treatment to you.

04/15/2025

We are thrilled to welcome Erin to our team! With her extensive experience and commitment to holistic, trauma-informed practices, she is a valuable asset to our community. Erin is now accepting new clients, both virtually and in-person at our Saratoga Springs office.

Read on to learn more about Erin's approach and expertise 👇🏼

My name is Erin Flora, and I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor dedicated to supporting individuals through life’s challenges and transitions. I specialize in working with women navigating pivotal experiences in their lives, focusing on anxiety, depression, fertility issues, prenatal and postpartum periods, grief and loss, trauma, parenthood, and struggles with self-esteem. I understand how isolating these feelings and experiences can be, especially when they are often unspoken and misunderstood. My goal is to provide a safe, nurturing space where we can explore your unique experiences, process their impact, and work toward creating the life you envision.

My therapeutic approach incorporates evidence-based strategies, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to address and alter thought patterns, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to foster understanding and acceptance of past experiences while moving forward. I practice with a trauma-informed lens to ensure safety, trust, and empowerment when addressing difficult areas of the past. Additionally, I draw on solution-focused and strength-based techniques to help set goals and take meaningful steps toward your emotional well-being.

Believing there’s no “one-size-fits-all” approach, I prioritize understanding your unique journey and together creating a personalized pathway of healing and self-discovery.

Outside of work, I enjoy cooking, attending live music and comedy events, and relaxing with my cat, Rosie.

03/08/2025

Therapy isn’t just about talking through the difficult things. It’s about truly connecting your mind and body by helping your whole self learn how to “unbecome” what you had become to survive all those years ago.

01/10/2025

Our feelings are valid simply because they exist. It can be hard to allow ourselves to navigate our emotions if we were never taught how or never felt safe enough to do so.
Therapy is one way to begin navigating how to find your way back to .

01/02/2025

From our healing space to yours, wishing you a gentle and happy new year!

01/02/2025

•Self-love is about taking care of your own needs and not sacrificing your well-being to please others. It can mean something different for each person because we all have different ways to take care of ourselves.
•Sometimes as children we learn that taking care of ourselves isn’t a priority and that making sure others are taken care of is what matters more.
• Starting to shift out of our childhood patterns can start with something small. All efforts matter.

How will you take care of yourself today?

08/02/2024

06/04/2024

Literally running into Pride month over here at Serene Pathways! Practicing equality, affirming support and allyship every single day!
🌈

05/07/2024

One of the most amazing things about human beings is how adaptable we are; as much as we may struggle with discomfort and change, our brains and bodies will do what they need to do to adapt and survive, especially when we're developing as tiny people.

And everything we do as adults, we do for a reason.
As tiny people, we learned which sides of ourselves & which of our behaviors kept us safe and connected, and which behaviors produced contempt, disconnection, fear, boredom, anger, etc in our caregivers and families.
Our bodies remember, even if our conscious minds don't.
And our patterns of behavior give us SO much information when we're able to pause and zoom out a little.

It can be so helpful to look at your most frustrating habits and behaviors, the ones that you'd like to change, and see what they are doing for you.
Does your shame stop you from sharing your hurt feelings or sadness because you never received co when you needed it?
Does your instinct to bolt at the first sign of conflict keep you from being rejected or from that familiar feeling of disappointing someone?
Does your hot temper stop you from giving people the chance to hurt you again?

Instead of further shaming ourselves for these protective parts, try to acknowledge the job they were trying to do; they exist for a reason.
Then get curious about the tender part that lives beneath the behavior.
What does that tender part need to feel?
What support does it need from you, that it never got when it was forming?

This is how we change patterns. This is how we begin to come back to ourselves and begin to feel safer in the world and in our own bodies, by reconnecting with the parts of ourselves that were hidden away and still have unmet needs and learning how to meet them.

the Let It Go (emotional self management) Workshop begins Wednesday.
6 weeks of small group work aimed at helping you begin to see your own patterns as signals and learn to compassionately come back to your own heart, mind, and body.
Link in bio to register.

https://theeqschool.co/let-it-go-workshop

04/18/2024

One of the most pervasive findings of the research literature is that self-compassion leads to authenticity because when we aren’t dependent on the approval of others for our self-worth, we are free to express our true selves.
- Kristin Neff

03/08/2024

Morning views from our healing space 🙌🏻