Cochrane Counseling, LLC Professional Christian Counseling
Wise Science - Big Heart
My Approach to Counseling
What caused me to become a Professional Counselor? The Lord showed me that His people needed wise science with a big heart. I was certainly not the first to realize that people perish for lack of knowledge. Wise Science - Big Heart brings together four corners of building positive change to build a better life. Wisdom of our founders, cutting-edge psychology, love of our neighbors, and most importantly love of something greater than ourselves, these are the four corners of Wise Science - Big Heart.
Becoming a Professional Counselor was not something I sought out in my younger days. I was working on staff at a local church here in Marshall County and before that I was helping to plant an inner-city church in St. Louis. While working at these churches I found myself filling the role of an advisor.
At this time I was not trained as a professional counselor. All I had was life experiences and the help of God. Still people who needed someone to just listen to them were coming to me for advice. Perhaps they were in need of premarital counseling, making decisions about school or a career, becoming a parent, and some of the more difficult things in life like saving a marriage, beating an addiction, loss of a family member, or a child just out of control. They needed someone they trusted to confide in.
Like I said, I was not a professionally trained counselor but I did offer people a simple way of using common sense and Christian values. Turns out those bits of sage advice from our grandparents combined with the values instilled in the Ten Commandments, Christian or not, make for a healthy person.
Seeing such a great need, feeling that God had called me to this work, I enrolled in a masters program to become a licensed counselor. I felt that obtaining professional skills would allow me to give people the help they need to obtain a joyful, balanced life.
Becoming a professional counselor entails 6 years of college and an additional 2 years minimum of hands on learning. After graduating with my M.S. in Counseling Psychology, May 2019, I was able to work providing Geriatric Therapy for Mountain Lakes Behavioral Health Care. After 6 months of working in the local nursing homes I began the Associate Licensed Counselor (ALC) phase to allow me to become a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). This ALC phase required 2 years of weekly one on one training with a LPC supervisor, providing 3,000 hours of supervised counseling, and passing a comprehensive national exam. Think of all this as a residency program to become a board certified LPC. Now I was adding the science of how people think and act to my God given skills. Wise Science - Big Heart, became my approach to counseling.
What is surprising to most people is that counseling is not just for the bad things in life. It is about helping people find a balance between the good things in life and the difficult things that life throws at you along the way. People should not wait until something bad happens to visit a counselor. Getting a “wellness checkup” prepares you by giving you strength to have control over your emotions and stressors in your life.
Who are my clients? Probably your neighbors, but you would not know it. They are coming because of life. Maybe they received an award at school, made the sports team, play in the band, finding the person they want to spend their life with, or buying a home and starting a career and family.
Some of my clients are people who, unfortunately, did not grow up in an environment where only good things happen. Drugs, alcohol, jail and abuse did not leave room for them to learn what love really is. Many heard that they would never amount to anything. All these things can put people on a generational path to unhappiness.
Then there are some clients that were born into a good, stable, loving home but bad things came along. Their best friend, confidant, and who they spend all their time with suddenly is not there for them. The sudden death of a parent leaving them confused and alone. An affair that should never have happened becomes a divorce. The ending of a career that had been so promising. The unexpected diagnosis of a life threatening cancer. These clients are saying “I’m a good person, why are bad things happening to me?” These thoughts can also lead to an unhealthy outlook on life.
My clients have no particular type. They may be rich, poor, business owners, college graduates or high school dropouts, but what they all have in come is the need for change. Everyone is constantly experiencing positive and negative emotions in their life which bring stress. You do not have any choice in what life brings in the moment, but you do have choices in how to manage your emotions to obtain the very best life you can in the future.
Better outcomes are obtained by having better tools to succeed. Counselors can’t make your problems disappear or fix your “broken” child with a magic wand, but Counselors can partner with you to discover a path forward to a better, more joyful, balanced life.
A LPC does this by teaching you techniques and strategies that change the way your brain thinks thus giving you the ability to overcome your challenges. Like a personal trainer for your brain instead of your muscles. Filling your toolbox with tools that are actually useful, and teaching you how they are used is the primary way a professional counselor equips you to balance your life, emotions, and choices to get to the “you” that you will love.
When becoming a client, do not expect to lay on a couch and have me ask you “how does that make you feel?” Therapy is the start of your journey to obtain a joyful, balanced life. I will partner with you on your journey. Sure, we are going to have honest conversations, probably some tears along the way, but we will also be doing real work. Not just in the office, but you can expect homework as well. You are going to have opportunities to vent and get things off your mind as needed. By sticking with the treatment plan, keeping your appointments, and doing the work you will obtain that joyful, balanced life you desire.
Wise Science - Big Heart.