Christie Bates

My clients are bright, creative people - sometimes a bit weary of therapy at first - who regain confidence in the process due to the work we do. I've worked in residential trauma-focused settings to help people of all genders address and resolve significant trauma, whether acute or chronic. I've also met with many people in weekly therapy addressing issues such as normal life changes, depression and anxiety symptoms, or helping newly-sober people navigate the courageous changes they're making.

You'll have the benefit of my rather extensive training and experience both professionally and personally. In the counselor role, I have helped thousands of clients through deep listening, empathy, education, and the use of a variety of experiential tools such as Brainspotting, psychodrama, and Internal Family Systems therapy. In my life outside the therapy room, I benefit from a deep practice of mindfulness tools and perspectives, and help others in the role of meditation teacher, which is sometimes useful in therapy as well. Whether or not you are interested in meditation, though, you can learn to increase mindfulness of what's going on in you and outside of you. Maybe for you it's about returning to a creative pursuit you've neglected, or spending time in nature. But first, you need to free up the energy that has been tied up in survival mode, so that energy is available to you for other things you care about. Freeing up that energy is a big part of what I can help you do.

I know many people feel discouraged right now by overwhelming big picture issues, especially because they have trouble making their own personal changes. I have come to understand at a profound level that you can be helped to access your own power for change, but you have to have a chance to see clearly. My job is not only to provide you with safety, but to teach you how to treat yourself so that you feel safe inside & see clearly how you want to participate in life. Once you feel more connected to yourself, it becomes easier to identify how you want to be part of the solution to the suffering in the world. For me, doing this work is part of that. I also love writing and teaching, which is why I offer the Deep South Dharma Podcast and offer weekly groups and occasional retreats in my role as a minister of the Embracing Simplicity Contemplative Order, a religiously and racially diverse, mindful and socially engaged order.