Who is Every Step Forward Counseling?
Name: Amber Stewart (she/her)
Title: Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
Story: Well, you can’t just tell a story in one line.
My interest in becoming a counselor sparked when I was a teenager. Many of my friends struggled with mental illness and difficult home lives; I wanted to become the professional that could have helped them. I chose to enroll at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) for Psychology to get my Bachelor’s degree and continued with my MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from IUP promptly after. Before getting my license, I worked a lot with families and youth with difficult home lives (kind of like my friends had!). I eventually began work in community mental health, and I noticed a pattern – most of the people I spoke with or work with had been touched by trauma.
Please click here to learn more about what trauma is. You might be surprised to learn that “trauma” has a broader scope than typically thought.
Who are you as a counselor?
Noticing how many people had been touched by trauma based on experiences with friends, professional experiences, and personal experiences, I could not help but see the great need there is for trauma-informed care. And, so, I decided to become a trauma-informed counselor! I am currently trained in Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Prolonged Exposure (PE), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy (EMDR). I believe that underlying most (if not all) mental health concerns is some kind of trauma – and, there’s many studies that support my belief that trauma is connected to depression, anxiety, and other mental health concerns.
In addition to the above-named approaches to treating mental health concerns caused by trauma, as a counselor, I practice empathy, open-mindedness, and curiosity when working with people to help them along their way. I have a strong interest in helping people grow and move along their journeys.
Who are you as a person?
When I’m not in the office, you can usually find me at home, at my desk, playing video games, writing, or chatting with friends on Discord. I’m usually playing a metroidvania, Souls-like, or a farming-sim type of game.
You might find me at a lake or a river with my tackle box, waiting for my bobber to move or losing a lure or two in the rocks.
There’s a pretty good chance that I’m spending time with one of my three dogs, pictured below (the black one is Dally, the long-haired fawn-colored one is Winry, and the short-haired tan one is Jojo).
Thanks for reading. I’m ready to help you start taking steps forward whenever you’re ready. If you’re ready, feel free to schedule an appointment.
