Sheri Thompson, PhD

Areas of Expertise/Specialties

• Abandonment and Neglect
• ADHD
• Aging and Geriatric Issues
• Anger Management Anxiety
• Bipolar Disorder
• Chemical Dependency
• Codependency
• Depression
• Grief and Loss
• Health Counseling (Diet, physical activity, weight loss, sleep hygiene, medication and treatment compliance)
• Individual Counseling
• OCD
• Personal Development
• Premarital Counseling
• Professional Development
• Psychological Testing
• Relationship Issues
• Weight Loss
• Women’s Issues

Aging and Geriatric Issues

I have had the privilege of conducting home therapy visits to older adults at assisted living communities and private homes. Older adults are as diverse as the rest of our population, but the focus was frequently on adapting constructively to life transitions. Some of these have been predicted, such as retirement, moving into a new environment or having family move far away. Others have been unpredictable, such as personal illnesses, injuries and physical declines, deaths of friends or loved ones, unforeseen financial problems, and the loneliness that often accompanies many of these events.

My approach will vary based upon your situation and personality, but always begins with a thorough discussion of how the current issues impact you. This will be followed by working to grow insights into the ways that various actions and ways of thinking impact your mood, health, and coping. We will partner to test out new thoughts and behaviors, evaluating the results over time and zeroing in on the approaches that best enhance your wellbeing.

Anxiety, Depression, Bipolar Disorder and other Mood Disorders

As a Cognitive Behavioral therapist, I want to thoroughly understand your distress and your therapy goals. Based upon strong evidence from decades of psychological research, we will then work together to clarify how your thoughts, actions, and mood impact each other. We will plan practical ways for you to change thoughts and actions that interfere with your mood, undermine constructive functioning, and decrease quality of life.

For example, depressed individuals tend to focus far more on negative thoughts than positive, and often suffer from lethargy and withdraw from social interaction. If you are depressed, I will help you shift your thoughts to be more realistic and constructive. We will jointly set goals for you to rebuild energy through practical activities like good nutrition and time outside, gently increasing activity such as short daily walks with a friend or family member, and/or re-starting hobbies that you used to enjoy.

If you are a client facing overwhelming anxiety, we will grow your ability to manage anxiety-provoking situations by building success one small step at a time. We will counterbalance this challenge with improved anxiety coping skills and daily relaxation exercises. These might include deep breathing techniques, stretching or physical activity, and prayerful meditation.

For all types of mood disorders, we will continually evaluate your unique responses and adapt approaches to maximize your benefits. When you are satisfied with your progress, we will prepare you to maintain improved mood and function over the long term.

Personal and Professional Development

A wise counselor is a blessing, and some clients want to walk with a trusted advisor in the absence of distress. Some aspire to improve their lives, insight or character. If you are one of these ambitious individuals, we will define your current top goals. Perhaps you want to be a better listener, contribute to society or building God’s kingdom, or improve relationships. Perhaps you are feeling unsatisfied at work or lost after retirement.

Our approach will vary depending upon your goals, but we will be guided by valuable psychological models. For example, the intuitive Stages of Change (Transtheoretical) model will guide us in identifying your readiness to make desired improvements and how to tackle these in sustainable stepwise fashion. If you have career or vocational goals, I will draw upon vocational assessment and advising experience. For those seeking a better sense of purpose, we will jointly explore your personal values and priorities. Frequently, these have changed over the course of our lives, but we have not yet aligned today’s actions with heartfelt, newly evolving priorities. For these kinds of developmental work, I may serve either as a long-term advisor or as a temporary counselor until you reach defined goals. I am happy to assist in either scenario.

Health and Healthspan Counseling

(Healthy aging, diet, physical activity, weight loss, sleep hygiene, medication and treatment compliance)

We all know that our earthly bodies are temporary and that we are likely to face health challenges. If you seek help to adjust to physical changes or to prevent or manage chronic conditions, some psychological approaches have proven to be highly beneficial. If you are working to change dietary habits to prevent diabetes, heart disease, or cancers, desiring better sleep, managing chronic pain, preparing to terminate weight loss medications, or simply striving for healthy longevity, we can define your personal goals and the strategies shown to be effective.

We will use SMART goal-setting strategies and develop plans for you to track progress and sustain motivation. We will build upon your successes, gradually integrating more challenging goals and new skills, as a foundation for sustainable long-term improvements. This approach is valuable for many types of health behaviors, such as increasing physical activity, making diet changes, reducing sedentary time, stopping smoking, monitoring blood glucose, reducing or eliminating alcohol use, and complying with difficult physical therapy or other medical treatments. In addition to actively working on your health goals, we will integrate mindfulness and relaxation skills that support your functioning and quality of life.