Our Professional Training

Before founding the practice, Bethany worked extensively with children and families impacted by trauma through a local nonprofit organization. She also has experience in a community mental health setting, where she supported individuals navigating addiction and complex mental health challenges.

Through this work, Bethany developed a strong foundation in treating both children and adults with severe mental health concerns and trauma-related experiences. These early clinical experiences continue to shape her approach, which is grounded in attachment theory, using compassionate and evidence-based approaches.

Bethany has pursued advanced training in several specialized modalities, including:

  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), S.A.F.E. Approach (EMDRIA-approved) through the Personal Transformation Institute

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS) through the IFS Institute, founded by Richard Schwartz

    • Internal Family Systems Circle Program, IFS-Informed

  • Traumatic Stress Studies Certificate Program, developed by a leading trauma expert and author of The Body Keeps the Score

  • Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) for the Treatment of Eating Disorders

  • Gottman Method Couples Therapy – Level 1, The Gottman Institute

Her work is rooted in attachment theory, helping clients feel safe, understood, and empowered as they move toward healing.

Our Team

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  • I serve as the CEO of Village Counseling Group, where my role is to support the practice behind the scenes so that Bethany can focus fully on the work of healing and connection. While I am not currently practicing as a clinician, I deeply believe that growth happens in safe relationships and that thoughtful support makes meaningful care possible.

    I came to this work after recognizing that healing tends to grow through personal relationships, rather than the rigid, top-down approaches that are common in health care. That realization led me to pursue graduate training in mental health counseling at Jackson State University.

    I work to ensure that the families who have entrusted our team with their care receive exactly what they need, and that the systems supporting this practice reflect the same compassion and intentionality found in the therapy room.

    My hope is that we are laying the foundation for Village Counseling Group to be a place where individuals and families can find healing, community, and compassionate care for many years to come.

  • Village Counseling Group was born from both my clinical training and personal healing journey.

    Years ago, I found myself at a crossroads. I was finishing my undergraduate degree and about to embark on graduate school. I had known since childhood that I wanted to be a counselor, and I had already done substantial work toward healing my own trauma with the support of some wonderful therapists. However, something was missing: I had no village.

    I had my family, my dogs, my friends, but I didn’t have community. That began to change when I spent two years in group therapy with other women. It was there that I learned how to be in community.

    The deeper healing began when I was surrounded by a group of compassionate women: therapists who taught me that love is consistent, that boundaries are essential, and that grace and connection are powerful tools for healing. My group members taught me how to navigate conflict, how to ask for and offer forgiveness, and how to share my story without fear of intruding on someone else’s space.

    Though I was in my twenties, these women, both the therapists and the group members, raised me. They taught me that love should not cost me parts of myself. They taught me to love those parts rather than ignore or hide them. They helped me become someone who could advocate for herself and sit with others in their pain.

    That experience became the foundation of Village Counseling Group. My intention for VCG is to create a space rooted in safety, honesty, and the belief that healing happens through relationships.

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  • Beckett enjoys belly rubs and treats. She adheres to her own rules and we respect that.

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  • Koa loves long walks to the neighborhood lake where he can pretend to be a fish. He does not like diets or responsibility. He is also a certified good boy.

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  • Cooper has the zoomies at least once a day as part of his dogfit routine. He verges on neurotic if not given given adequite belly rubs and sometimes can be found staring at his humans in the middle of the night. He’s weird and we accept that.