About Kerry Phipps Counseling
I’m Kerry Phipps, a licensed mental health counselor specializing in helping adolescents and adults find a sense of peace amid both internal struggles and the many challenges of living. Working primarily from an existential approach, I use mindfulness and acceptance based therapeutic tools to help you explore areas of “stuckness” and take positive steps toward overall wellness.
I approach this work not as an expert, but as a working peer, knowing that my clients ultimately guide the changes that make the most difference in their lives. I’m not here to tell you what to do, but to help you explore what motivates and inspires the direction you will take. I am not here to offer advice, but to help you gain personal insight, encouragement, empowerment, and support as you navigate your particular circumstances.
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When I’m not in individual sessions or facilitating group offerings, you’ll find me walking with my canine companion Arlo, painting surreal landscapes and nature abstractions, spending time with my family, doing land art, geocaching, taking in our freshwater sea, kayaking, camping, or touring ancient sites and roadside oddities by motorcycle.
Experience, Professional Qualifications, and Compassionate Care
My introduction to providing mental health support began at seventeen as a peer counselor at the Cornell Center in Port Huron, MI. Informed by my own healing, an interest in nutrition and health led to study in naturopathy and various healing modalities throughout my early adulthood. I went on to take various roles as a Certified Peer Support Specialist and art educator in state programs as well as groups and events in the community. Throughout the years, I have led and facilitated groups in Compassion Meditation, Wellness Planning, Twelve-Step Programs, and Artistic “Unblocking.”
A lifetime of contemplation, existential anxiety, and religious studies led me to seek my undergraduate BS in Psychology through Cornerstone University, knowing that bigger questions informed and contributed to both illness and healing. Personal experience and subsequent study in anomolous trauma, religious abuse, and narcissistic injury has contributed to my work with domestic abuse survivors and those coming from spiritually oppressive systems.
After completing my Master’s of Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Liberty University, I’ve continued to expand my toolkit with specialized training and certifications in Brainspotting, Trauma (Polyvagal Theory,) Somatic Therapy, Integrative Health, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Existential Therapy to provide both evidence-based and complementary support tailored to your unique needs.
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I hold Certified Clinical Trauma Professional Level II credentials, and also am considered a Certified Integrative Mental Health Professional and a Brainspotting Level 1 Practitioner.
Therapeutic Approach and Specializations
I’m old enough to know that there are a lot of things I don’t know. I’m no expert but I have broad knowledge and will walk with you, not in front of you.
My approach is person-centered, existential, and nonjudgmental.
I do use some Cognitive Therapy, but I am not a behavioral therapist. I’ll help you go a step further than checking and changing your thought patterns by identifying and building skills that create present-moment awareness. We’ll focus on learning to self-regulate your nervous system, experiencing contentment, and finding peace. I’ll help you explore your big questions and everyday challenges while learning how to respond (not just react.)
I believe therapy works best when we work with your strengths and personal values to figure out what will make you feel more at ease, engage in the fullness of life, build resilience, find true meaning, and become more authentic.
Approaches Used include:
NARM: Neuro-affective Relational Model
MBCT: Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy
ACT: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
In a brief course of treatment, my clients often find they can:
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- Get out of ruts and “stuckness”
- Engage in life with more clarity, confidence and creativity
- Learn to accept what is outside of their ability to control
- Gain self acceptance, compassion, and courage to grow
- Learn to build relationships based on respect and mutuality
- Transform reaction into mindfulness, reflection, and purposeful action