Welcome to Jane McGill Counseling, PLLC!

We all know change can be hard. I’m not telling you anything you don’t know. And even though we know we need to address some problem in our lives, be it health, work, relationships, spiritual, etc., we drag our feet. I know I do. In my blog on this website, I talk about the two months it took me to begin to address a diabetes diagnosis. So I applaud you for getting this far to search for a therapist.

Let me tell you what kind of a therapist I am. I am very relationship oriented. Just as I want to get to know you, I also want you to know me and to feel very comfortable sitting in the chair across from mine and talking with me about your struggles. I work hard to gain your trust, and to give you a safe place in which you can talk openly. Your journey to healing (and you decide what healing looks like for you) is one that I’m going to be on with you. That’s a promise I make to you.

My office is in my home and part of my home environment and my personality is my love for animals including my four-legged therapist helpers. When you walk into my home, you are often greeted by my big couch potato of a dog, Finn. Finn loves all people, so if you are a dog lover or feeling a bit down, feel free to share in Finn’s love for you before I send him back to his couch. (He pretty much thinks that all my clients are here to see him.) I also have two tuxedo kitties who sometimes join in our sessions (only if you want them to). Dixie, on the left, likes to sit on laps and be petted. Zombie, on the right, is more of your typical cat. He doesn’t mind being seen, but touches are on his terms.

I came to counseling later in life, having served in the Air Force and working in the corporate public relations world, followed by a focus on raising my daughter and starting a home-based business. I bring to the counseling session years of life experiences — 41 years of marriage, Health issues to include my husband’s liver transplant in 2015 among other health challenged, military experience, business experience at several different levels, lots of volunteer jobs including in the Jefferson County School system, with my church and volunteering with military veterans — all wrapped up in a continuing quest for knowledge, and a bit of wisdom courtesy of the school of hard knocks.

“My office is in my home and I want you to feel at home when talking with me.”

My therapy style is eclectic in nature, meaning I use a variety of therapies to help my clients. I gravitate toward the behavioral therapies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, existentialism, and EMDR, as these work with the negative thoughts you have about yourself and how we change thought patterns and behaviors. These therapies work well with my trauma and behavioral addiction clients. However, I also like narrative therapy, that is the story of your life that you tell, your values and skills, and how to change your narrative so that your life is where you want it to be. This is a therapy I use with my clients who find their lives in transition because of work problems, relationship issues, and just day-to-day struggles with life. When I counsel couples, I use a therapy called Emotionally Focused Therapy which helps with communication, emotions, and gets to the heart of the issues couples face.

I’m also a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP), and Certified Complex Trauma Professional (CCTP-II) which means I’ve gone through additional training in treating those dealing with trauma. I use a trauma informed approach which aligns well with my therapy style that focuses on relationship building first and foremost. In fact, it’s well researched that the success of therapy relies heavily on the relationship between the client and the therapist. I’m also a board certified counselor with the National Board for Certified Counselors and am a certified EMDR therapist through EMDRIA. The latter means I’ve taken additional coursework and supervision, and have more than 1000 clinical hours using EMDR. Within the EMDR world, I am an Approved Consultant and consult with other clinicians looking to improve their EMDR skills.

Finally, I like to incorporate faith into our sessions for those clients who desire faith, as I believe that full healing doesn’t occur unless we bring faith into the healing process. I am Catholic, so my focus is on Catholicism for my Catholic clients, and Christianity for my Christian clients. However, I am not the kind of therapist who quotes bible verses to you (and as a Catholic, we rarely do the bible thumping thing), but we can talk about faith and struggles with faith, and how you can use your own faith practices, whatever they may be, as a means to aid in your healing. How deeply we go into faith all depends on you and what you would like, and if you should decide you don’t want to bring faith into the counseling session, that’s okay too. Therapy should always be client-driven, not therapist driven. But for my Catholic clients, rest assured that I am well-educated in the Catholic faith and the church teachings, and will honor your Catholic faith.

Who is my ideal client? In counseling circles, we often talk about our ideal clients. Well, my ideal client is the person I’m talking with at any given moment. I am a trauma therapist and work with those with PTSD (especially military veterans and first responders), those who’ve experienced sexual trauma and physical, verbal or emotional abuse, men and women dealing with the after effects of abortion, including shame, blame, and guilt, and women who are addicted to pornography and masturbation (though I also work with men with porn/masturbation addiction). I love working with those in transition, and with couples struggling with their marriages. When working with you through these transitions, I help you set your goals and then we work to achieve those goals and to identify the barriers that keep you from doing so.

Supervision of Counseling Clinicians and EMDR Clinician Consultation:

I love working with new counseling clinicians both through supervision and for those with EMDR training, through EMDR consultation. Please see more information about this aspect of my practice under the Services heading.

See My Blog – I write a blog that I post on this page. Check it out and you’ll learn more about how I think and my approach to counseling. I also post helpful information and links on my professional Facebook page.

I offer free telephone consultations, and 30-minute in person consultations. My business hours are generally Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays and I have evening appointments available each of those evenings.

Please give me a call at 720-707-9119 or drop me an email and let’s talk.

Jane McGill Counseling, PLLC

See our Services