Counseling & Psychological Services

Professional Interests / Areas of Expertise

Sammi enjoys working with students with a variety of mental health concerns, including anxiety, depression, trauma, familial concerns, trauma, identity exploration, and others. She is committed to supporting diverse identities and exploring intersectionality for those who are seeking increasing awareness of their experiences, growth, self-compassion, and personal change by offering a safe and supportive space. Sammi is specifically interested in supporting students with LGBTQIA+, first-generation, or other marginalized identities.

Approach to Counseling / Theoretical Orientation

Sammi's approach is tailored to each client's experience by utilizing inclusive collaborative and integrative approaches. She hopes to instill a courageous space that is authentic, trustworthy, and empowering where clients can explore their goals while identifying their strengths for promoting change. Sammi's style typically stems from strength-based and person-centered modalities, with an eclectic blend of interventions.

Personal Interests

Sammi enjoys spending time with her friends and family, going on walks, visiting the Greenway, petting dogs, caring for her succulents, and shopping at TJ Maxx.

Professional Interests / Areas of Expertise

Aaron is particularly interested in human emotion, eating and body image concerns and disorders, group therapy, and assessment and differential diagnosis. He is passionate about working with clients wanting to process and better understand their emotions and emotional experiences related to their therapeutic concerns, to explore the therapeutic effects of group therapy, and to develop their own unique identities.

Approach to Counseling / Theoretical Orientation

Aarons ideal therapeutic relationship is collaborative in nature, established with openness and honesty, and safety and trust by working through a culturally humble framework. In therapy, Aaron takes an integrated approach, often blending aspects of emotion focused therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy via an existential lens. He also emphasizes meeting the client where they are at in a client-focused, humanistic, multicultural approach.

Personal Interests

Aaron enjoys spending time with friends and family, whether it be playing board games, going on a hike, or escaping into the realm of Dungeons and Dragons. For self-care, youll probably find him reading or writing something not related psychology, listening to music or podcast, playing with his cats Pumpkin and Patches, or experimenting with a new recipe.

Professional Interests / Areas of Expertise

Heidi has worked at the Counseling Center in varying roles since 2004 and comes from a background in community and school-based mental health, where she learned to appreciate working in integrated, interdisciplinary health services settings. Heidi works with a wide range of issues, including depression and suicide, trauma, anxiety, womens issues, eating concerns, and relationship and attachment problems, and is particularly interested in the connection between mental health and nature. Heidi has a strong passion for working with underserved and marginalized populations and for many years co-facilitated the Gender Spectrum Therapy Group at the Counseling Center. Heidi was involved in the early development of a formal relationship between the Counseling Center and the Athletics Department, to improve access to services for student-athletes. More recently, Heidi has become interested in mental health training at the community level for prevention and reduction of stigma.

Approach to Counseling / Theoretical Orientation

Heidi has a holistic, collaborative approach to therapy. Her theoretical orientation is integrative, primarily drawing from humanistic, interpersonal process, and relational-cultural and feminist perspectives. Heidi frequently incorporates mindfulness, cognitive-behavioral, and dialectical behavioral techniques into her work. She has a strong belief in every person's capacity for growth and healing and views her role as therapist as creating an affirming, inclusive space to foster change and potential.

Personal Interests

Heidi cherishes spending time with her family and loved ones, especially going on outdoor adventures with her husband and two children. She is an avid runner, cyclist, and skier and takes any opportunity to get out in the mountains of the High Country. Heidi is also a keen traveler and especially enjoys experiencing different cultures. In her quieter moments, she enjoys yoga, reading, and gardening.

Professional Interests / Areas of Expertise

Jacob's approach is based within the integrative model and can best be described as client-centered, collaborative, and trauma-informed. To this end, he strives to consider the unique culture and lived experiences of each client, and draws from theory rooted in interpersonal and existential psychology. He values working from a strength-based perspective and deploys a variety of empirically-based therapy modalities, such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and Motivational Interviewing (MI) to help clients reach their goals.

Approach to Counseling / Theoretical Orientation

Jacob has specific training and experience in Sport and Performance Psychology and has worked with athletes at the college and professional level over the course of his career. Additionally, he has a strong interest in Military Psychology, having worked with military personnel prior to their deployments as well as veterans transitioning back to civilian life.

Personal Interests

Jacob enjoys training for, competing in, and watching any and all forms of athletics. He also enjoys cross-cultural travels, adventures in the wilderness, spending time with his wife and family, and strives to do at least one thing a day that scares him a little.

Professional Interests / Areas of Expertise

Scott likes to utilize "Strengths Based Perspective" to meet students where they are in their college journey, and assist them in connecting with community resources that will best meet their needs. In addition, he incorporates Cognitive-Behavioral therapy into his Individual Therapy practices when working with students.

Personal Interests

Scott enjoys anything outdoors, time with his family, video games, and traveling to new places.

Professional Interests / Areas of Expertise

With 28 years of experience working in the field, my specialties are anxiety, depression, trauma and eating disorders. My focus is to decrease stress and strengthen self-compassion. My goal is to give clients the tools to thrive rather than just survive. Treatment will be tailored to individual needs. I have worked in schools, treatment centers, hospitals, workplace EAP and private practice. I have specialized in working with children, adolescents, college students and adults, but I am most passionate about working with college students in this stage of my career. In addition to a background in clinical psychology. I also have an MFA in creative writing with an emphasis in poetry, so I tend to incorporate expressive arts into my work.

Approach to Counseling / Theoretical Orientation

My training was in psychodynamic, trauma-informed and client-centered therapy so my treatment approach is relational and individualized. My masters thesis focused on narrative psychology, so I believe there is power in speaking our individual stories and how we decide to perceive our histories. More than our individual experiences are the meaning and purpose we give to them and how we decide to move forward. In various workplaces, I have adapted my techniques to include cognitive behavioral, psychoeducational, and solution-focused approaches. How this translates in practice is that my holistic treatment is tailored to individual needs where goals and treatment are done in collaboration with the client.

Personal Interests

Outside of work, I love hiking and just being outside. When the weather does not allow that, I enjoy yoga, collage, creative journaling and reading mysteries. I also enjoy playing detective as to what is going on in my 21-year-old daughter's Instagram posts.

Professional Interests / Areas of Expertise

Chris has a particular interest in the relationship between physical and mental health, men's issues, mindfulness, research in clinical settings, and program evaluation.

Approach to Counseling / Theoretical Orientation

Chris is respectful of each individual and focuses on the development of the whole person. He integrates interpersonal and cognitive-behavioral therapy into his work with students, while also emphasizing a client-centered, mindfulness, and multicultural approach.

Personal Interests

In his spare time, Chris enjoys spending time with his family; sports and exercise, whether it be heading to the gym, hiking a trail, or watching a game on T.V.; traveling and exploring new places; and the challenges of learning how to do new home improvement projects.

Professional Interests / Areas of Expertise

Kim works with a range of concerns, including anxiety, depression, identity development, eating and body image concerns, suicidality, self-harm, and interpersonal challenges. Kim is passionate about supporting young adults through the transition to college and increased independence.

Approach to Counseling / Theoretical Orientation

Kim brings a trauma-informed and humanistic approach to her therapeutic work, prioritizing emotional safety, transparency, and trust. She fosters a collaborative and empowering environment where clients are supported with choice and agency in their healing journey. Kim is attuned to the intersectionality of each client's identities, including one's cultural background, historical context, and lived experience, recognizing how these interconnected aspects shape one's sense of self and can serve as powerful pathways to healing. Taking an integrative approach to therapy, Kim tailors her work to honor the unique experiences of each client, blending elements of Emotion-Focused Therapy, mindfulness-based practices, and behavioral modalities, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).

Personal Interests

Kim loves spending quality time with family and friends, whether boating on the lake, hiking trails, or collecting rocks along the way. She also enjoys cooking yummy meals for others, listening to live music, and is currently learning to play the keyboard.

Professional Interests / Areas of Expertise

Julie works with a wide variety of concerns, but has a particular passion for working with trauma, sexual assault, identity development, LGBTQ issues, and emotion regulation difficulties. She has a strong interest in and passion for helping individuals explore their intersecting identities and the ways in which they move through the systems in place in the community and in the world. In addition to this, she also enjoys group therapy, supervision, and training.

Approach to Counseling / Theoretical Orientation

Julie's approach to working with clients is collaborative and integrative. Her approach is multicultural, trauma-informed, rooted in interpersonal therapy, and draws from existential, mindfulness-based, and Dialectical Behavioral therapy (DBT) modalities. She values the unique nature of each individual, as well as their values, goals, and strengths.

Personal Interests

In her free time, Julie enjoys spending time with her friends and family, cooking, reading good books, and watching puppy videos on YouTube.

Professional Interests / Areas of Expertise

Leslie's areas of interest include the training and supervision of new and emerging professionals. She also enjoys career counseling, working with non-traditional students, and helping students who are navigating identity-related and developmental concerns. Leslie is passionate about prevention and outreach efforts, and loves working with the Appalachian State Mental Health Ambassadors, a program she co-created and co-coordinates with Dr. Brooke Powers.

Approach to Counseling / Theoretical Orientation

Leslie's approach to working with clients is collaborative, and she prefers a holistic integrative approach to treatment that incorporates cognitive-behavioral, interpersonal, existential, and client-centered techniques. Leslie recognizes that there is no one size fits all approach to therapy and tries to tailor her interventions to each clients unique needs and preferences. The value of authenticity is appreciated and modeled in Leslies therapy sessions.

Personal Interests

Leslie's interests and hobbies include playing pranks on her co-workers, spending time with her family, enjoying the outdoors, armchair traveling, magic, and robots. Okay, shes not really into magic and robots, but she does love to read five books at once, listen to good music, and spend money on shoes.

Professional Interests / Areas of Expertise

Julia enjoys working with students with a variety of mental health concerns, including depression, anxiety, interpersonal relationship concerns, familial concerns, survivors of trauma, and eating concerns. Julia has a particular interest in the relationship between physical and mental health, connecting students to campus and community resources and decreasing the stigma around seeking help for mental health concerns. Julia is committed to supporting students with diverse identities offering a safe and supportive space that honors cultural differences and experiences.

Approach to Counseling / Theoretical Orientation

Julia's approach tailors to each clients wants and needs through an integrative model that encompasses a strength-based, client-centered, trauma informed, and interpersonal frameworks. She utilizes Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and mindfulness, and body-focused interventions. Julia values courage and authenticity and wants to create a safe space to work collaboratively with students towards their healing and growth while recognizing that counseling can feel hard and awkward at times.

Personal Interests

Julia enjoys spending time with family and friends, exercising, being outdoors, capturing photos of authentic moments and nature, strives to keep her plants alive and enjoys target retail therapy.

Professional Interests / Areas of Expertise

Joey enjoys working with students who may be experiencing a wide range of mental health concerns, such as anxiety, depression, identity exploration, familial concerns, life transitions, and more. He values helping clients identify and utilize personal strengths to foster resilience along with building insight to facilitate personal growth. Joey enjoys working with groups, individuals, and couples as well as engaging with the larger community through prevention and outreach opportunities.

Approach to Counseling / Theoretical Orientation

Joey approaches therapy through a person centered lens believing that every individual's identity and experience is unique. The foundation for a strong therapeutic alliance is creating a space of trust and personal relationship where clients feel able to share their story and emotional experiences. He utilizes an eclectic array of therapeutic interventions and modalities that are discussed collaboratively with clients to best meet their current needs and preferences.

Personal Interests

Joey enjoys all forms of physical exercise, but especially any that allow him to be outdoors or in nature. Joey further enjoys cooking, baking, video games with friends, and trying out new restaurants and coffee shops. Joey also makes it his mission to say hello to and/or pet every dog that he can.

Professional Interests / Areas of Expertise

Emma enjoys working with students with a variety of mental health concerns, including depression, anxiety, interpersonal relationship concerns, adjustment/transitional stress, and identity formation. She is passionate about supporting individuals of diverse identities who are seeking personal change and growth, and she has particular interest in supporting students with LGBTQIA+, first-generation, or other marginalized identities. Emma's professional and research interests include multicultural counseling, working with survivors of domestic/interpersonal violence, attachment, and healthy interpersonal functioning.

Approach to Counseling / Theoretical Orientation

Emma approaches counseling from a collaborative, integrative, and multicultural perspective. She hopes to create a warm, nonjudgmental and compassionate healing environment for her clients that fosters wellness, cultivates personal growth, and encourages whole-hearted living. Emma's approach is rooted in person-centered, strengths-based, and holistic counseling. She also utilizes cognitive-behavioral, motivational interviewing, and body/mindfulness-based interventions.

Personal Interests

In her free time, Emma enjoys running, cooking, Pilates, creating music, spending time with loved ones, and binge-watching reality TV shows.

Professional Interests / Areas of Expertise

Gayatri has training as a marriage and family therapist and also in the field of medical family therapy and has worked with people from different countries. Some of the areas of interest include mindfulness and meditation, dealing with health-related issues, coping with stress, life transitions, grief and loss, trauma, self-care, emotional well-being, self-esteem, communication, relational issues and helping people achieve a better balance in life.

Approach to Counseling / Theoretical Orientation

Gayatri is collaborative in her therapeutic approach and is interested in helping people discover and celebrate their uniqueness, gifts, and strengths to create more happiness and joy in their lives and in their relationships. She enjoys helping people figure out what their dreams are and how they can achieve them.

Personal Interests

Gayatri enjoys learning about different cuisines, traveling, baking, writing poetry, gardening, listening to music, reading, meditating, and painting.

Professional Interests / Areas of Expertise

Adriana enjoys working with college students with a variety of concerns. She is especially interested in helping students experiencing challenges with anxiety, stress, depression, eating concerns, and substance use, as well as issues related to gender and sexuality. She is also passionate about finding ways to bring counseling services to underserved and marginalized students.

Approach to Counseling / Theoretical Orientation

Adriana integrates several therapeutic approaches in her counseling practice. She uses a person-centered approach that incorporates mindfulness, solution-focused approaches, and techniques from Motivational Interviewing and cognitive therapies. She focuses on meeting each client where they are, working to center their unique experiences and identities in order to empower them in reaching their goals.

Personal Interests

Adriana enjoys music, drag shows, travel, and attempting to read through the New Yorker each week.

Professional Interests / Areas of Expertise

Ashley comes to Appalachian State with a background in health psychology and has trained in university counseling, hopsital settings, and community mental health. She is especially passionate about work with trans* students, queer-identified students, students of color, and students struggling with other issues of marginalization. Ashley has specialized training in the treatment of eating disorders and coordinates the interdisciplinary Eating Concerns Treatment Team for the Counseling Center.

Approach to Counseling / Theoretical Orientation

Ashley takes a holistic approach to treatment, but above all, believes that change begins with the client-therapist relationship. Working from a Gestalt perspective within a multicultural framework, her therapy style is heavily relational with an emphasis on power dynamics and their impact on interpersonal process. She frequently incorporates experiential and body-focused interventions with techniques from cognitive-behavioral, dialectical behavioral, and emotion-focused therapies. Ashley strives to work collaboratively to facilitate holistic healing and well-living for all of her clients.

Personal Interests

Ashley's favorite place to be is outdoors with her husband and daughter- especially if it involves hiking or camping. To quench her creative side, she also loves baking, gardening, and woodworking. Her favorite pastime, however, is teaming up with her daughter to raise swallowtail butterflies in their backyard.

Izzy is part of a Pet Therapy Team with Dr. Chris Hogan. Izzy enjoys being around people, getting pets (especially belly rubs once she gets to know you!), playing fetch, chewing bones, and playing with her stuffed hedgehog. She likes to visit students in the Counseling Center lobby, during walks around campus, and at outreach events. Feel free to stop and give her a pet when you see her!