Counseling/Therapy

"The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change." - Carl Rogers.

Sara obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Music from BYU-Provo in 2004 and a Master of Counseling from Idaho State University in 2020. Sara values a holistic approach and provides experiences in sessions to address both mind and body. She has found that growth comes through increasing self-awareness and self-compassion, fostering a mind-body connection, and practicing intentional authenticity.

Sara serves adolescents and adults with various concerns, including depression, grief, anxiety, and trauma. She also enjoys serving the LGBTQIA+ community and those experiencing faith transitions.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is an evidence-based model of therapy that promotes growth and healing through harmonizing parts of self. IFS aims to help persons trust their inner self as a guide, identify their needs and values, and empower them to live accordingly.

Services Offered: Therapy/Counseling

Outside work, Sara enjoys hiking/trail running, eating delicious food she doesn't have to make, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

"Let go of who you think you're supposed to be; embrace who you are." – Brene Brown

"When we own our stories, we get to write a brave new ending." – Brene Brown

Mel has worked in the mental health field since 2016, starting as a paraprofessional and eventually becoming an LMSW in 2022. They have experience with individual, couples, and family counseling, Cognitive-Behavioral, and Dialectical Behavioral Therapies, Narrative and Solution-Focused Therapy, and have attained Level 1certification in Gottman Couples Therapy.

As you can tell from the quotes above, Mel prefers a strength-based, narrative approach to the difficulties we all face in life, whether in the past, present, or future. They focus on creating a safe, accepting environment where clients are heard, understood, and empowered to change their lives. Mel has worked with anxiety, depression, current and childhood trauma, grief and loss, gender and sexuality issues, and the complications and adversities of everyday life. They have been active in the LGBTQIA+ community in Southeast Idaho for many years, and their greatest dream is to see the area become a single community with room and respect for everyone.

“This ‘remothering” is the ongoing practice, tremendously helped by a mentor, of learning to care for your body’s needs, validating and expressing your feelings (even if they’re unpopular), holding healthy boundaries, supporting your life choices, and most of all – being welcoming towards all that is yet unsolved in your heart.” – Toko-pa Turner

Erin is a LPC graduated from Idaho State University in 2021 with her Master of Counseling degree.  She works primarily from a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) framework and utilizes mindfulness approaches as well. She seeks to help clients cultivate inner peace through building awareness of their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and then practicing new adaptive ways of being.

Erin especially enjoys working with those seeking to manage anxiety and depression, and those who would like to improve the health of their relationships with self and others. She also enjoys serving the LGBTQ+ community as well as those navigating spiritual transitions. In her sessions, Erin often ties in topics of self-compassion, healthy boundary setting, perspective taking, and de-programming unhealthy beliefs. All forms of expression are welcomed in that session space, including tears and laughter.   

Erin will be available to provide telehealth services!

"Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody's business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy if anything can." – Thomas Merton

Todd is a Licensed Master Social Worker and is a mental health counselor. He worked for 16 years at Idaho State University, providing accommodation services to students and faculty. Before that, he worked as an independent living advocate and assistive technology professional. Todd believes that self-redefinition is not only possible but essential. Areas of interest include mindfulness, self-care, community development, and people experiencing life transitions. Todd has presented disability and technology issues at local, state, and national venues.

Todd has worked for more than 30 years with people who have a disability. A physical, intellectual, sensory, or mental health impairment is not a tragedy but an essential part of what it means to be human. Accidents, aging, or illness mean that most people will join the largest minority group on the planet—the powers of resilience, community, and technology open doors to life’s possibilities. Disability is a natural part of life.
Todd joined the board of the Development workshop because its mission to increase indepen­dence and dignity mirrors his philosophy. He also serves as the chair of the Idaho Falls Soup Kitchen.

Areas of focus:
⋆ What makes people resilient in the face of trauma and adversity
⋆ What tools are most helpful in achieving success
⋆ How to include disability in discussions of diversity and difference
⋆ How to reduce structural inequities for the disability community
⋆ How to get people to talk to each other

Todd spends his free time kayaking, cross-country skiing, experimenting with computers and how they change lives, reading books, listening to classical music, and interacting meaningfully with friends and neighbors. He enjoys making a good cup of coffee, Eating Ruben sandwiches, baseball games, dinner with friends, spending time at or on the ocean, and sleeping in a tent. Conversely, he needs help understanding the appeal of peanut butter, motorized off-road vehicles, the NFL, NASCAR, and anything to do with carpentry.

Todd is blind. He uses a white cane, reads braille, owns numerous devices that talk, and hopes to be the first person in Idaho to own a self-driving car.