Cigna and Evernorth Therapists in Blackwood, NJ

Richard is licensed by the State of New Jersey as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and is a National Board Certified Counselor (NBCC). Richard has over eight years of experience working with a wide range of adults and families in the mental health field settings at the Outpatient, Intensive Outpatient, Residential, Intensive In-Community Settings. Richard has experience with various issues, including Depression, Anxiety, Trauma, Bipolar Disorder, ADHD, Grief, Stress, Substance Abuse, Peer Relationships, Anger Management, Men’s Issues, and Domestic Violence.

Hello! My name is Dr. Chelece-Atavia Brown, a Pre-Licensed Social Worker (LSW) for New Jersey and a certified facilitator in Teen Mental Health First Aid by the National Council of Well-Being. I have experience in providing therapeutic services for children, teens, adults, couples, and groups. I assist high-achieving Black women and men with navigating life stressors. I'm passionate about bridging the gap between faith and mental health to increase an individual's quality of life.

Are you seeking change and personal growth? I will be compassionately by your side as we travel towards your personal path of change. Emotional healing, recovery from trauma, and working through loss/grief are just a few of the goals I help clients achieve.

I am a dedicated and compassionate Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist with a profound commitment to fostering healthy family dynamics and supporting individual growth. I have a great passion for working with families and children and provide a safe space for families, children and couples to address their unique needs and support their emotional well-being. I am dedicated to empowering my clients to realize their full potential.

Clients seek therapy for various reasons; however, there are struggles I have more experience in treating. The age between 18 and 30 is a pivotal time in a person's life as they discover who they are. This age group undergoes depression, anxiety, the processing of childhood and current trauma, and self-esteem struggles. Clients this age typically undergo a life transition involving family, education, beliefs, the onset of various diagnoses, and finances. My treatment includes a lot of self-discovery, emotion regulation, and boundary setting to help clients process the past, cope with the present, and be hopeful for the future.

My approach begins with the belief that individuals are resilient and may benefit from utilizing their own strengths to increase their resilience. Individuals often ask, “How do I build on my personal strengths?” My philosophy is that it is about identifying several factors; What you are passionate about? What motivates you? What interests allow you to be excited about today and look forward to tomorrow? Identification of these variables assist in attaining lifestyle balance, developing healthy coping skills, recognizing your priorities and problem solving.

Are you feeling overwhelmed due to challenges with navigating stressors in life? Are traumatic experiences preventing you from moving forward in life? Are you feeling misunderstood and feel that your voice isn’t being heard? Are you stuck and not sure which direction to turn to? Therapy is about being in a safe and non-judgmental space that will consist of addressing these concerns. I will be here to support you in taking proactive steps to improve your overall quality of life.

Ideally, I work with all individuals. My ideal client would be one who has depression and anxiety, needs stress management techniques, and is open to meditative exercises.

I believe strongly that clients come in all different shapes and sizes and from different walks of life. Therefore, I do not have an ideal client, as my wish is to help anyone who needs it regardless of their experiences, needs, and goals. I welcome the experiences I will gain from having diverse clients.

If you're ready to embrace change, I'd love to support you along your journey. My ideal client would be willing to work together consistently to address any needs, struggles, or issues, to build self-understanding, and to strive toward personal goals and happiness.

I do not have an ideal client since I have worked with all different populations. If I had to specify, I would want to work with an adult struggling with life’s challenges, such as adjusting to college, dealing with a breakup, struggling with self-esteem, managing family stressors, employment concerns, and/or substance abuse. This person would want to improve the quality of their life, process their thoughts, and work towards creating change to live a healthier and happier lifestyle. Their goal may be to improve their way of thinking, have extra support to process their thoughts with, and become the person they would like to be.

My ideal client is self-aware and willing to accept and acknowledge their strengths and limitations. They are also someone who is not afraid to be challenged and receive guidance. I enjoy working with people open to an integrative and holistic approach. I especially enjoy working with women struggling with anxiety, depression, self-esteem, and past trauma.

Common feelings like "I don’t feel heard” or “I can’t seem to do anything right” are expressed by the couples I work with. Individual clients feel overwhelmed and stressed, “My life is changing dramatically and I’m not sure what to do next.”

My ideal clients are moms struggling with anxiety and looking for support through their transition to motherhood. These women are looking for encouragement and need support as they learn to trust their own intuition.

My ideal client is female, male, or nonbinary and is kind and generous, has good ethics, and loves to help others. They have been experiencing low self-esteem and have been numbing out emotions through food, technology, work, or other distractions. Their numbing-out practices have held them back from being their authentic self, productivity with work, maintaining healthy and loving friendships and relationships, having enough energy, and their overall self-esteem. They are ready to commit to putting in the work in therapeutic services to help them develop and maintain healthier coping skills.

My ideal client needs help with the services I specialize in. I typically consider the client's current habits and strengths to guide us on where to start goal setting. Showing up to therapy is a huge step, and I commend any client who takes that initiative.

My ideal client is one that is open to change. A client that, even if they see no way through, they trust that I am there to do all I can to help them, not just to listen, watch the clock, and end a session, but to be invested in their transformation from start to finish. My ideal client is one who is comfortable, even if not at first, celebrating themselves and not being fearful about trying again. Things aren't always successful on our first try, but my ideal client will understand this, embrace the lesson in each situation, and be willing to use what they've learned to try again.

The ideal client is someone who is an emerging adult, is self-motivated and is experiencing interpersonal relationship issues. They may be experiencing anxiety or adjusting to life transitions. Their goal is to learn how to manage and regulate the anxiety they experience, form healthy relationships, and develop new patterns.

My ideal client is seeking therapy because they are feeling sad. It almost feels like depression. The client is not sure how to stop feeling this way. They also don't know why they are feeling this way. They want to learn what is making them feel sad. The client would like to learn strategies to help identify triggers and learn coping skills to decrease the depression.