GREAT FRONTIERSCOUNSELING SERVICES (904) 254-8421

About Therapy With Me

When Life Outpaces Your Usual Ways of Coping

Everyone has a set of ways to cope, and most of the time yours get the job done.

Then more comes at you than those ways can handle: pressure at work, a breakup, something from years ago that you still can’t forget.

The good news is that you’re normal, because this happens to a lot of people every day. The bad news is that many people don’t recognize they need help, and their situation tends to get worse.

You’re reading this page, so you’re already looking for a way to feel better.

Expect a Lot of Questions at the Start

I like to be thorough, so our first session comes with plenty of questions.

The questions help me understand how your stress, and any trauma you’ve lived through, is affecting you right now.

By the end of that first session, I want you to feel understood and heard. That’s why I’m diligent about creating a safe place from the very beginning.

Questions go both ways, and I encourage you to ask me anything about therapy. More than one client has told me they’ve shared more with me than with anybody else.

You’ll Hear About EMDR Long Before You Try It

I’m a certified Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapist, and I first bring it up during our free phone consultation.

EMDR is a structured method that helps your brain file a painful memory away, so it stops ambushing you in the present.

The first two sessions are for getting to know each other, with no EMDR at all. Preparation comes around sessions three and four, and processing typically starts around five or six. Some people need attachment work first, so a younger, frightened part of them feels secure enough before EMDR begins.

I’ll never push EMDR on you. You get all the information, you make the call, and if it isn’t making a meaningful difference, we lean on talk therapy instead.

Come Because You Want to Be Here

Therapy works best when coming here is your own idea.

From there, a few things make the biggest difference:

  • Show up, week after week.
  • Stay open to EMDR and to the process as a whole.
  • Keep working between sessions, because a lot of the change happens there.

Your Therapy Has a Beginning, a Middle, and an End

After a few months together, many clients notice a positive difference in the way they feel and think. For most, therapy runs up to about nine months, and some stay longer.

You’ll know graduation is getting close when you have less to talk about in session. You feel less anxious and less depressed, good about yourself, and able to look at what happened without becoming emotionally activated.

I genuinely like all my clients. I still want every one of them to get better, graduate, and stop needing me.

If a new issue comes up after you graduate, you’re welcome to come back and work on it with me.

Charles Dean, Psy.D., LMHC
Charles Dean, Psy.D., LMHCGreat Frontiers Counseling Services

About Charles Dean, Psy.D., LMHC

My interest in therapy began after I needed a therapist to help me resolve feelings related to the end of a significant romantic relationship.

In my early 20s, I also felt lost in life. I had recently earned my bachelor’s degree in a field that I could not see myself working in for the next 40 plus years.

What I was doing was not working, and I was tired of feeling sad, depressed, and anxious. It was during therapy that the lightbulb went off for me that I would like to be a therapist and help people.

Where My Training Comes From

I earned my master’s degree from Troy University and my doctoral degree from California Southern University, where I did my doctoral project on compassion fatigue.

Before private practice, I worked in inpatient settings with clients facing substance abuse issues, and in correctional settings.

I’ve been licensed in Florida since 2012.

The Client Who Led Me to EMDR

My interest in trauma work began after entering private practice, when I worked with a client and did not have good enough trauma training.

Talk therapy was not helping address his symptoms of PTSD. At that time, I did not understand how interconnected trauma is with life’s problems, regardless of the size of the trauma.

I took specialized training to become a certified EMDR therapist.

Yes, the client did get better.

I Run the Marathon With You

Because I like to run marathons, I view therapy for clients as running a marathon.

For some clients, it’s an ultramarathon. For others, we’re just doing a little 5K.

I am running with them and being supportive, but they are doing the work.

My goal is to run a marathon in all 50 states. I’m only at 8 states so far.

Bring Your Questions to a Free Consultation

Having been through therapy several times myself, I understand the initial hesitation, but I also know the benefits of therapy.

Ask me whatever you want to know, EMDR included, before you ever book a first session.

Call me today at (904) 254-8421, or email me at greatfrontierscs@gmail.com, to set up your free consultation.

Your Nerves About Starting Therapy Make Sense

Talking about your stress and trauma with someone new is a scary thing to do, especially the first time.

I’ve sat in the client’s chair more than once myself, so I know how much that first call asks of you.

Call me at (904) 254-8421 or email greatfrontierscs@gmail.com for a free consultation. I’ll explain how EMDR works, and we can talk about the belief you’d most like to change.

Call Me About EMDR