Heather West is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist Intern with a Master’s Degree in Counseling from Southeastern Louisiana University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Special Education. Heather’s path towards counseling began through wanting to help children with special needs through teaching. Through her teaching
experience, she realized the need for advocacy for children not only with special needs but for their families along with children who have also experienced trauma, divorce, and other life struggles. This led her to achieve a degree in counseling while taking specific classes in play therapy in order to specifically help children and their families. Heather believes that every family has the capacity to strive and overcome life issues.
Besides children and their families, Heather has experience with working with teenagers, adults, and couples. Predominantly, she has experience working with trauma, anxiety, self-esteem issues, parent-child relationships, attachment issues, families of divorce/separation, grief, and depression.
In session, Heather likes to utilize a collaborative approach where the whole family is involved and is a part of the counseling process. Heather also uses a variety of approaches including cognitive behavioral techniques, solution-focused techniques, narrative approaches, expressive arts, and mindfulness. Heather also uses play therapy techniques in her sessions with both children and adults. Play therapy techniques include art, story writing, sandtray, and much more. Currently, Heather is trained in the following: Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TFCBT), Trust Based Relational Therapy (TBRI) and Mindfulness including Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).
Certifications:
Child Grief & Bereavement
