Meet Myra, Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern

Myra has had success helping individuals suffering from anxiety, depression, adjustment disorder, and trauma. She has helped couples with pre-marital counseling, marriage difficulties, and is trained in Betrayed Partner Trauma to assist partners with healing after the discovery of an affair or unwanted sexual behavior. As a mother herself, Myra has a heart for helping parents and has experience counseling parents of children with Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). She can help teens to understand themselves better and become intentional about their behavior. Myra also has had success helping empty nesters and retirees to find purpose and direction, fulfillment, and joy. Myra provides a safe environment with unconditional positive regard and therapeutic approaches that address the client’s problem. She helps the client create and accomplish attainable changes that make a positive impact on the client’s life.

Presenting Problems

  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Career Concerns
  • Communication difficulties
  • Attachment style challenges
  • Developmental changes
  • Relational difficulties
  • Marital issues
  • Betrayed Partner trauma
  • Infidelity
  • Life transitions
  • Aging concerns
  • Parenting concerns
  • Trauma

Specialties and Certifications

  • PREP Certified- A Prevention and Relationship Education Program
  • Associate Partner Trauma Therapist – Betrayal Trauma
  • Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavior Therapy – Trauma
  • Rapid Resolution Therapy-Unwanted Reactionary Behaviors
  • Psychological First Aid and Youth Mental Health First Aid Professional ApproachMyra uses Solution Focused Brief Therapy and Rapid Resolution Therapy to tackle immediate problems and reduce or eliminate reactions that often surface from reminders or triggers.Myra uses Eclectic Modalities to meet the client where they are with the best approach that serves their goals and needs. Some of the therapies she uses include Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Attachment Based Therapy, and the Gottman Method. She is able to help clients learn de-escalation skills, improve communication skills, and learn to appropriately assert themselves.Myra assists partners in the healing process after finding out about their partner’s affair, unwanted sexual behavior, or pornography use. She uses a Betrayed Partner Complex Trauma Approach. She is able to help in the Therapeutic Full Disclosure Process. She helps clients to develop a strong sense of self, increase self-love, and increase self-respect.

    Myra uses an evidenced-based curriculum, PREP, founded in research on prevention and resiliency to help couples learn the skills to foster a healthy and happy relationship.

    Facilitated Groups

  • Anxiety Support Group
  • Parenting for ACEs – Building Family Resiliency
  • Betrayed Partner Support Group
  • Boundaries Support Group.

Education

Myra graduated from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting. She worked in the accounting field until she started her family. Myra became a stay-at-home mom and homeschooled her four children using a classical approach to homeschooling. Her oldest children were able to build on that success and have graduated from

Harvard and UCal Berkeley. She developed an interest while homeschooling her children in Emotional Intelligence and Mental Health. She decided to pursue a degree so that she might help others using her life’s experience.

She recently received her Master’s degree in Marriage, Couple, and Family Therapy from the University of Central Florida. She took part in the Christians as Counselors group at the school where they discussed principles from the Bible to discover how they might be applied to evidenced based practices. Myra was also selected as the recipient of an Integrated Care Federal Grant where she provided counseling as part of the UCF Medical school team, attended to patients as part of rounds at Advent Health, and joined with the medical residents to provide mental health care at the Knights Medical Clinic.

Experience

Myra’s Internship took place in a Christian integrated care facility where she was able to counsel clients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder with psychotic features, relational distress due to attachment difficulties, adjustment disorder, medical anxiety, PTSD, sexual trauma, grief, and career counseling. Myra also gained understanding of Adverse Childhood Experiences and took part in developing parenting classes to foster resilience.

After graduation, Myra has worked with clients from age fourteen to eighty. She has continued to work with couples and has facilitated groups for betrayed partners and boundary support. She has helped clients with anxiety and intrusive thinking, marriage preparation, relationship difficulties, betrayal, and divorce. Myra also has worked with clients needing help with individuation, difficulties brought on from Covid, spiritual concerns, and childhood trauma.

For Fun

Myra enjoys reading classics, books about counseling, and biographies. She has fun camping in the Smoky Mountains and South Carolina’s lakes and beaches. She loves visiting family in California and New England. She enjoys biking and taking walks with her husband and dog. She has fun watching her two youngest boys play baseball.