Suicidal Ideation Therapists in Chattanooga, TN

I view counseling as a journey of awareness, growth, and self-compassion. As your travel companion, I aim to provide insight, encouragement, and a gentle nudge to help you reach your destination. I work with individuals, groups, and families of all ages and backgrounds and have specialized experience helping clients with issues of anxiety, grief, trauma, spirituality, self-harm, and gender identity. When appropriate, I offer dreamwork, sandtray therapy, and psychotherapeutic Reiki interventions. My approach is collaborative and respectful, primarily drawing from an integration of humanistic, cognitive, and narrative frameworks.

I am a licensed clinical social worker working in a private practice in Chattanooga, TN. I work with individuals who are struggling with Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders. I also work with adolescents and adults coping with anxiety, depression, bipolar, addiction, communication skills, trauma, grief & loss, body image, self-esteem, self harm, suicidality, and severe mental illness.

In the words of Virginia Satir, sometimes we prefer the certainty of misery over the misery of uncertainty. As we wrestle with our shame & fears, we often adopt patterns of controlling, avoiding, and numbing instead of accepting and confronting our suffering as God-given catalysts of growth and even purpose. This causes us to sink deeper and cling to what is familiar and comforting in the moment, forming harmful relational habits or cycles of impulsive acting out in the long run. Know that you aren’t meant to bear this burden alone. Counseling is for those brave enough to embrace their vulnerable state and learn from it.

I believe therapy should be a place for growth and healing. As a clinician, I understand it is difficult to take the first steps of going to therapy and opening up to someone about your life or retelling your story after many attempts in therapy. My aim is to provide a safe place where you feel comfortable and accepted to allow space for vulnerability and change. I am passionate about working with adolescents and young adults on healing old wounds and moving forward with a healthy life.

I enjoy working with clients who are experiencing issues related to family conflict, couples, parent and child disconnect, foster care/ adoption, self love, depression, anxiety, grief, postpartum issues, parenthood, personality disorders, mood disorders, behavioral challenges, adjustment, intrapersonal conflict, setting healthy boundaries, building lasting relationships, trauma, personal identities and other areas.

Patricia received her Master of Science from Lee University in 2016. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in the State of Tennessee. Patricia's counseling services are available via telehealth. Patricia is trained and experienced in trauma, grief, depression, anxiety and simply adjusting to life. Her treatment model is trauma-informed and integrative psychotherapy including clinical training in TF-CBT (Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and Level 1 Complex Trauma Treatment Professional Training, current training telehealth trauma certification.

I know from personal experience that searching for a therapist, from reading profiles to scheduling, can feel like an overwhelming task. Whether you come with a goal in mind or are coming because something feels “off”, I hope to make the therapy space feel like your own. I enjoy working with individuals and couples working to learn new parenting skills for improving their relationship with their neurodivergent children, deconstructing hurtful religious messages, exploring and recovering from trauma, and unpacking the impact of discrimination/bigotry/trauma on LGBTQ+ identity.

Life is hard and we all need a supportive safe space from time to time to process and heal. I walk with my clients through the trials of life with compassion and 30 years of experience bringing an accepting presence, clinical expertise and if desired, the wisdom of a Christian worldview.

Being a human is complicated and often overwhelming, but there is peace to be found amongst the chaos. If you find yourself in a difficult place, the decision to begin therapy is not an easy one, but it is a first step in offering yourself acceptance, love, and a path forward. I strive to create a safe space for you to process your unique life circumstances through an integrative and collaborative approach that values your perspectives, therapeutic goals, and evolving needs. Together, we can address difficulties such as trauma, anxiety, depression and suicidality, as well as life transitions and self-esteem concerns.

Over the past 28 years, I have enjoyed working with individuals, couples and families from a relational perspective. I particularly enjoy working with men who struggle with issues of communication and intimacy. My counseling takes a dynamic, interpersonal approach to seeking healing, because I believe that we grow in the context of intentional community with one another. While I am a Christian, I welcome those into my office from all world views and perspectives.

I enjoy working with children, adolescents, adults, and families. I utilize an integrative approach to therapy and take a trauma-informed, family systems perspective. I have experience working with the following issues: childhood behavioral disorders, trauma, anxiety, depression, relational/interpersonal issues, spirituality issues, self-esteem, grief and loss, adjustment and phase of life issues. I believe that all individuals are worthy to be known and I enjoy getting to know about the uniqueness of each individual and family in a safe therapeutic environment.

I offer expert and comprehensive Psychological Evaluation Services for children and adults. Diagnosis and defining the problem accurately are the first steps to effective intervention and why assessment is so important to your treatment journey. A comprehensive evaluation and an evidence-based intervention plan can increase understanding of your mental health and learning difficulties as well as provide the proper direction and accommodations needed to succeed not only in treatment, but in academics, work, and everyday life.

I work with children, adolescents, and adults. It is my goal to help these individuals work through struggles with attachment/relationships, anxiety, depression, ADHD, trauma and more at their own pace. As a neurodivergent, I am passionate about helping others learn how to function with and to love their own neurodivergence. I also enjoy working with parents (biological, foster, adoptive) who want to better their relationship, communication, understanding, and/or attachment with their children. I work diligently to maintain a safe and affirming space for members of the LGBTQIA+ community and their families.

I offer support in facing and gaining mastery over life’s many struggles, including but not limited to the following areas: trauma, depression, anxiety, grief, relationship issues, and addiction. I also provide encouragement and collaborated direction for those desiring to become the best possible version of themselves.

On the outside it looks like you have it all together. But on the inside you never feel good enough and the voice in your head is quick to remind you of all the ways you’re falling short. You've spent the last however-many-years trying to keep everything together, but it’s exhausting, and you don’t think you can do it anymore. You're tired of giving so much to everyone else while you continue to come last on your list. Not anymore. It's time for a change.

Whether you're looking for mental health counseling, sex therapy, or both, it would be my honor to work with you. I have experience working with a myriad of sexual difficulties as well as struggles with anxiety, depression, shame, identity, relationship issues and more. Using talk therapy, I take a unique approach to uniting many different parts of the self and helping clients create the life that they want without embarrassment or shame.

I'm glad you are here, you are not alone in this journey. Maybe you find yourself feeling impulsive, overwhelmed with intense emotion or wanting to self-destruct. Maybe there are parts of yourself that you have not explored that leave you feeling misunderstood within yourself and in relationships. The repetitive invalidating environments and traumas keep us in this cycle. My hope is to meet you where you are, whether in trenches or the mountain tops. ​Through the therapeutic relationship our goal is to collaboratively find the authentic you and begin to heal who that person is.

Therapy for MEN and COUPLES. Many of us have struggled with troubling, unwanted thoughts, compulsive behaviors, broken vows, traumatic childhoods, or some enslaving addiction. Our lives are pockmarked by pain, and wounded by those we love (and we have hurt them in turn). However, this pain does not have to have the final word. We can live a life we love, one that is consistent with our deepest values. A life of peace, tenderness, freedom, courage, and love.

If you are sick and tired of being sick and tired, I hear you. If you want to make changes to live a happier and healthier life, I can help you do that! I don't tell people what I think they should do; I work collaboratively with folks to make small changes that add up so you can reach your goals, feel proud of yourself, and add to your coping skill toolbox. I am a licensed professional counselor with 10 years of experience working with a wide variety of clients and concerns, primarily in an acute care hospital setting. I'm not intimidated by mood swings, intrusive thoughts, anger, or substance use. You won't be "too much" for me.