Life Transitions
Kristen Kern
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, LCSW, MSW
It takes courage and strength to reach out for support in life. I believe providing a caring professional environment where individuals feel comfortable and can be themselves is key to healing and growth.
I am a welcoming, supportive, and empathetic therapist who collaborates with each client to help them make positive changes in their lives. I specialize in providing client centered therapy for adults, seniors, and their loved ones.
I use a variety of evidence-based therapy techniques to support individuals facing the challenges of depression, anxiety, grief and loss, and other life transitions.
I focus on supporting each client in managing symptoms and improving their quality of life. I have over 15 years' experience helping adults and seniors learn the skills to make positive improvements to their overall health and wellness.
Meagan Sheffler
resident in counseling, med
I graduated from the University of Maryland with a BA in Anthropology in 2010 and, after a decade of soul-searching and gaining valuable life experience, felt drawn the counseling field. In 2023, I received my MEd in Counselor Education through the College of William and Mary.
I value cultivating a safe, affirming, and trusting therapeutic relationship with my clients. My hope is to create a space that encourages self-discovery and self-compassion. Together, we will collaborate on goals, build meaningful insights around thought processes and emotional responses, and work to unravel and unhealthy patterns that get in the way of personal growth and healing.
I work through a humanistic lens and pull from strength-based, attachment focused, and emotionally focused approaches. I have experience working with individuals struggling with anxiety, depression, emotional dysregulation, complex trauma, as well as identity exploration and interpersonal relationships.
Tiffani Ashland
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, LCSW, MSW
I personally understand what it feels like to lose your way, lose people you love, or just to lose hope altogether. I've been there.
I strive to create a therapeutic space that is authentic, non-judgmental, flexible, and prioritizes each client’s individual needs and safety. I am an active therapist who values compassion, humor, and challenging clients in an empathetic and supportive way.
I use a holistic & strengths-based approach, drawing from mindfulness, solution-focused & cognitive behavioral therapies.
I am experienced in treating older adolescents & adults with a wide range of issues, including anxiety, depression, mood disorders, trauma, ADHD, OCD, grief, and all types of relationship issues.
I am a sex-positive therapist, experienced in helping people form and nurture healthy relationships with self and others.
This may include support with sexuality, gender identity, monogamous and non-monogamous, and open or polyamorous relationships.
Tabitha Woodson
Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC, MA
I can say that one of my greatest accomplishments was my 16 years of service to the United States of America. After being discharged from the United States Navy due to a service related condition, I thought long and hard about the next chapter in my life. I have always had the ability to engage in meaningful conversations with others. I enjoyed helping people figure things out.
The hope that I held for others influenced my decision to pursue an MA in Professional Counseling at Liberty University. I have over 10 years of working in community mental health. I have enjoyed working with a diverse population of people to include children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral challenges, along with adults that have serious mental illness and substance abuse problems. I provide individual and group therapy for children, adolescents, and adults.
I do believe that some of the suffering experienced in life oftentimes results from faulty thinking which eventually leads to unwanted emotions and behaviors.
As a Licensed Professional Counselor, I provide a safe, warm and welcoming atmosphere that allows for self exploration, discovery and healing
of the mind and heart. I truly believe that the power to heal the heart, mind and soul lies within you.
As a trauma informed therapist, I use a variety of treatment approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Motivational Interviewing, EMDR and Brief Therapy.
I believe the decision to engage in counseling is courageous, empowering and life changing.
As we work together, my hope for you is that you will regain control over your emotions, you will be able to examine and manage your anxious thoughts and begin to act in a way that promotes peace and harmony within yourself and with others. Some additional work may involve forgiveness of self and others, restorative practices and self acceptance.
You will learn to live a fulfilling life. You will learn to be alive in life instead of merely going through the motions.
Derik Rice
Supervisee in Social Work, MSW
Choosing kindness because you never know what someone else is going through is a widely held sentiment that I strive to embody in my clinical practice.
My goal in supporting you throughout your recovery journey is to walk alongside you and to be your “hope holder,” even when you feel you are drowning in despair.
As a master’s level social worker who entered the profession midlife, my depth and breadth of lived-life experiences enable me to support you from a place of empathy, compassion, and understanding. While I do not subscribe to any singular therapeutic approach, several that resonate with me include cognitive behavior therapy, solution focused therapy, collaborative therapy, and narrative therapy.
A guiding tenet in my practice is the belief that you are the expert on your own life. It is my job to help you uncover your strengths and empower you to face and overcome whatever dilemmas, problems, or situations you are facing.
I am comfortable working with individuals of all ages ranging from teenagers to older adults who are experiencing anxiety, depression, emotional dysregulation, trauma, substance abuse, relationship issues, and family and career transitions.
Emily Currier
Supervisee in Social Work, MSW
Creativity and a passion for nature were fundamental in my upbringing as a native Virginian. I attended Emory University in Atlanta and received my BA in Anthropology and Creative Writing. After roughly a decade spent pursuing a wide variety of interests and positions, I enrolled in Virginia Commonwealth University’s Master of Social Work graduate program because of my interest in social justice and creating equitable access to mental health resources.
For my clinical field placement, I worked with children and adolescents from 5 to 18 years old and discovered a love for play and art therapies. I believe art and creativity to be therapeutic for people of all ages, unlocking feelings and memories that people may otherwise struggle to verbalize. Along with a strengths-based perspective, I strive to create a supportive environment in which clients feel comfortable expressing themselves.
I admire the courage and resilience it takes to seek help when you are unwell, suffering, or feeling out-of-sorts. I am committed to celebrating client’s strengths and triumphs as well as acknowledging and working through their hard days and challenges.