Daisy Lael
CMHC

I have a broad knowledge of mental health issues from experience, research and application. My background includes the study of general psychology and the neuroscience underlying mental health disorders. In my career, I have worked with substance abuse, sexual assault, physical assault victims and perpetrators, mood disorders, impulse control and obsessive behavioral disorders, psychosis, relationship and sexual orientation issues, relationship struggles, couples, families, and personality disorders. From my work in these areas, I have seen the damage that emotional neglect, abuse and trauma can cause an individual over a lifetime if left untreated. Thankfully, from all this experience, I have also seen the healing power of effective treatment and the power of God’s grace to heal. I utilize a somewhat eclectic style of counseling, relying heavily on cognitive-based styles but also borrowing from existential and person-centered theories. All theoretical direction I use is evidence-based, with a heavy reliance on understanding the etiology of disorders for diagnosis. In sessions, a primary focus is placed on a respect for the client’s dignity, autonomy, and on the counselor’s responsibility of unconditional acceptance, empathy, and collaboration. My aim is to enable the client to understand, incorporate, and maintain new ways of thought and behavior and to have, if they have elected for spiritual integration, to have an enriched relationship with God in addition to/as the basis of this. The point is to empower the client such that, when therapy resolves, I will have successfully worked myself out of a job.