Part Three: Creating HEART Counseling

In 2018 my husband took a postdoc position at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. We moved to Madison, Wisconsin that summer with a newborn baby (0/10 – do not recommend moving with a newborn). For the first year we lived in Madison, I was still finishing up my dissertation and teaching remotely for Iowa State. But as 2019 drew to a close, so did the grant that had been funding my research. When I couldn’t find a good research fit for my work at UW-Madison, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next. 

Dreaming of HEART Counseling

My dream was to have my own private therapy practice. But could I do it? I wasn’t sure. Slowly, I started thinking about what I would name my practice if I had one. I wanted to include words that showed my beliefs about therapy, so I tried to think of a good acronym with some of those words. 

Active Participation

I believe strongly that a person’s overall health and healing can be achieved by being an active participant in their own treatment. When you come to therapy, it’s not “just” to talk (although that can help to a point); it’s to work with your therapist to make a plan and actively engage in your treatment. In therapy, you should feel like you are making progress, even if it’s very slow progress. 

Education and Learning

I believe when you come to therapy you should learn. You should learn more about yourself and your experiences, and how they shaped the person you are. You are the expert on you, and your therapist should want to learn about you and your perspective on yourself.

But I also believe that you should learn from your therapist. They should educate you more about what’s going on with you – do your symptoms all add up to anxiety or PTSD? Let’s learn about that and about the treatment options for those symptoms. 

Strengths-Based Approach

As a social worker, I believe that you already have the resources and tools you need to heal within yourself. Sometimes we just need help finding and using those tools. Therapists should help you recognize the strengths and resources you already have within yourself. They should also teach you new tools to use to cope, ground yourself, or whatever else you and your therapist feel you need. 

Tailored, Effective, Research-Based Treatments

I believe in the use of effective, research-based treatments. I think that these treatments should be chosen and thoughtfully adapted for each individual. 

HEART Counseling

Ultimately I decided on the name HEART Counseling because I believe that health and healing can be achieved through education, active participation in your treatment, and the use of effective, research-based treatments.

Welcome to HEART Counseling, LLC

In January 2020 I formed my LLC, HEART Counseling. I also began the process of transferring my clinical social work license from Washington, DC to Wisconsin. To get my “feet wet” in clinical work again, I briefly worked for another practice. By September 2021 I was ready to officially launch HEART Counseling and go out on my own. 

HEART Counseling Becomes a Group Practice!

In the fall of 2023 I decided to grow into a group practice and hired my first employee – Amberly Stevens. We moved into a bigger space (our current location at 7633 Ganser Way in Madison – behind WestTowne Mall and close to the Beltline) in October 2023.

It’s taken us some time to fully decorate and make the space feel like home, but we love welcoming our clients here! Amberly has been instrumental in getting everything set up in our space. Did you know she loves to build furniture?? 

In January 2024 Julie Jensen joined us part-time. Next Robin Kinney joined in April 2024. As these therapists have slowly added clients to their caseload, the space has filled with more people engaging in the important work of therapy and self-improvement. I feel so lucky that Julie and Robin found HEART Counseling and chose to join us!

In the fall of 2024 we welcomed our first intern – Amy Racki. Amy is completing the last hours of her clinical internship in the clinical mental health counseling graduate program at Grace College. Amy is a great fit for HEART Counseling and an awesome addition to our team! 

Finally, Sam Egelhoff is joining us in November of 2024! We can’t wait to see all of the ways Sam joining us will enrich our team as well!

My heart is full knowing that I have built my dream practice. There are even other like-minded therapists who have joined me!

If you are looking for a therapist in the Madison area, or online anywhere in Wisconsin, we hope you will come check us out! We would love to help.