Speaker 1 (00:04):
Okay, lemme get myself. Good morning. This is Rhonda Ves with Illuminated Pathways Family Therapy, and I’m excited that you came to join us today. We are looking forward to spending some time with another one of our clinicians here with our practice. And, uh, but before we get started, um, I just would like to kind of introduce that we are the best Christian counselor Texas has to offer here in the, uh, Houston area. And, uh, we are, um, Google rated, uh, as the top three of Harris County. And we take great pride in that because we really work hard at trying to really serve the people that God places in front of us. Again, my name is Rhonda k Elders and I’m an LPC supervisor with the state of Texas. I am the owner of Illuminated Pathways Family Therapy and since 2015, we debuted January 2nd, 2015. So we’ve been in business a little over now 11 years.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
We are excited to have grown into three different locations. We have Missouri City, Conroe, and then of course NASA Bay, where we started. We are a group practice that uses evidence-based treatments such as talk therapy, play therapy for children, and other proven methods to help with like marriages, premarital family, and, and then like mother, daughter, father, son, or sibling work. We look forward to working with our community of people that God brings through our door. While we have these, um, central to our care, we recently, um, experienced having, which led me to reevaluate traditional approaches to mental health is by becoming more of a holistic whole body approach. Um, the mind, body, spirit and this perspective gives clients the access to wider, um, variety of therapeutic options before considering medication, empowering them to make informed choices about their treatment. We are very excited about the actual educational pieces that we get to provide here, how we get to offer those opportunities for them to think about things and, and then collaborate with other, um, practices in the area. We look forward to accompanying you and your family. Um, at any point in time we’ve been praying for you to walk through our door, um, but while we go through this podcast, I’ll be introducing to you one of our clinicians. His name is Sony Kim, and he’s been with us since January and he is one of our best Christian counselors Texas has to offer. And we are excited about what he’s done with our clients here. Uh, Sony, how are you today?
Speaker 2 (02:52):
I’m doing good.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Good. Um, would you share a little bit about who you are and, and kind of what brought you through to the point of picking the career choices that you’ve picked?
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Yeah, I think I’ve always just had a natural interest about health, the physical side of things, the psychological side of things. Um, I was a health promotion major for my bachelor’s, and then I started working as a health coach. And so I helped people with their physical goals, getting to a good weight, practicing habits that help them feel energized and healthy every day. Um, and at the same time, my favorite conversations were the psychological ones, right? Digging into what some of the stuff from my upbringing or my beliefs that’s impacting my ability to live the healthy life that I want. And so I love those pieces because I think they speak to the core of who we are and when we can transform those things, we can see all the positive benefits radiate out from that. And so, uh, I did health coaching for a while, taught music for a little bit, which I love, again, individual interaction with people where I can foster relationships and just joyful moments as we talk and learn.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Um, and then I eventually segued into my master’s program. Uh, for me, I’ve gotten to see how difficult mental health issues can be in my own personal life and in the lives of my loved ones when it goes untreated or when you’re not able to get the support you need. And in that same vein, I can see how transformative it is when you get the help that you need and how much of a difference it makes. And so seeing that giant difference is what pulls me to this profession. I want to be able to help you and everyone who comes through here in a really big way.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Very good. So, um, I get that sparked a great interest for like the the different places in your life where that that whole idea of helping people with their mental health, I think that’s wonderful in the background that you have, is very, um, integral to what we do here too. So I love that too. So we actually give our patients or our clients, um, that come through the door opportunities to kind of make better well-informed choices for themselves. So that really is awesome. Um, that’s another reason why that makes it, um, uh, a great place for illuminated pathways ’cause you’ll find the best Christian counselor Texas has to offer when you walk through the door here. We have a great big team that was ready to go and serve with the same type of momentum that Sony is experiencing right here and shared with you. Um, Sony, share your faith a little bit with the audience and let them know how important it is for you to incorporate it in your sessions.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Yeah. Uh, it’s been a major piece of my own personal life for pretty much my whole adult life. And I think, you know, when people are looking for support, they want the best right? They want the best Christian counselor that Texas has to offer. And that faith piece is so important because there are few things in life as powerful as faith. And so when we’re able to bring that in, it just is a very strong strength and asset and resource for us to use. And for me, it’s, I’m always trying to work at a level that’s comfortable for you, right? Like, is it super important to you? Let’s bring it in it a lot. If it’s not at the moment, I’m not gonna force anything on you. I wanna work with you and at the same time, maybe bring some of those things onto your mind because I don’t want you to have these amazing tools that’s being left off of the table. And so at the end of the day, I’m trying to support you in the way that works for you and for most people, I would say for all people. Uh, incorporating that faith piece ends up being a really, really powerful thing.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
I agree. Uh, we don’t realize how much of that is when when people walk through the door, they, they might not want it to be, uh, they might not think of it as being something that’s important or integral to their, their healing process, but it’s, it’s part of the truth, right? So we could have a perception and that perception could be false, which is probably one of the reasons maybe what brought you through our door. And so we wanna help kind of f facilitate the way to help take that perception that you might have and then, um, incorporate it with some faith pieces so that you, the truth becomes a little bit more evident and clear. Uh, that’s very good. I I love that. And, and I know that that’s something that God has made very clear for me as I started the business to make sure that, um, that this is part of that process.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Again, we meet you where you’re at, but it’s, it’s really important that, um, we as clinicians understand that it’s part of who we are. And so it comes with us with our skillset, and that’s what makes us the best Christian counselor Texas has to offer. Uh, we also, um, you’re getting some experience with, uh, Simbu, which is save your marriage before it starts. And, and I love that too because that’s also a, a great assessment to kind of help whether you’re thinking about getting married or you have been married, whether that’s 5, 10, 15, 30 years doesn’t really matter. The assessment’s good for everyone. Tell me information that you have gleaned and the benefits that you see with it.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Yeah. So in any, any marriage or even in any romantic relationships that’s not at marriage, you have two people very unique, very different coming in and trying to create a unified life together. And so when that happens, there are some natural difficulties I can come along with that. And the beautiful thing about Simis is that it allows us to cover all of the fundamental important areas that need to be talked about, that need to be aligned on. And some people have never had those conversations before, and even if they had, sometimes it’s hard to talk through that when we’re having some issues in our relationships. It’s very helpful to have someone who is, uh, equipped to support you through those conversations. And when you see unity and alignment in all those major pieces, that’s when you can see the beauty of your relationship spring forth. And so here we try really hard to make sure that we have the best Christian counselors that Texas has to offer. And the Simbi piece not only goes through all of major areas of communication and wellbeing and the social life and everything of that nature, but also make sure to integrate the faith piece so that you can get aligned in that really important area as well.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
So one of the things too that really kind of stuck out for me for the Simbi assessment was that, um, Dr. Les and Leslie Parrot, uh, they are from the Illinois, uh, area. And, um, I grew up in this in the, um, Nazarene church. And so they’re part of the Nazarene Olive at Nazarene University. And so they had come to our church when I was young and came and spoken, but they’re the developers of this assessment. And so over the years that since they’ve had it, their statistics, uh, show that 94% of people who go through the EMIS assessment, that they’ll, they’ll have a successful marriage or their marriage will be repaired. So if people are looking at maybe they’re not gonna be able to make their marriage work if they go through the assessment and they do it well, um, with each other, and they really, uh, really kind of work together in that continuity of care with, with the therapist and then with themselves, that that idea, it will be facilitated in such a way that they could be part of that statistic.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
And I think that’s such a great number, 94% that’s pretty incredible for, for marriage, um, saving, um, or for sex for successful marriages. Um, so animal therapy, uh, that’s one of the things like when I went to college, uh, I didn’t even know about it. So I went to my internship site and that’s when I saw like these people would be bringing in these animals to the, to the clinic. And I’m like, oh, this is pretty awesome. And so that’s when I, uh, decided to take some extra classes at University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. And I took the classes for animal therapy and, uh, I’m so glad I did because now, uh, we, we, we, it’s really a great process. They are part of the therapy team. And so tell me your experience with the animal therapy.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Um, so that was one of the pieces that drew me into this place. Uh, I’m always looking for how do we best create a supportive, warm, friendly environment for people, because this is hard work sometimes that we do here. And so the more comfortable you feel, the better it is. And, uh, I mean, it’s just nice seeing <laugh> a dog, right? Who doesn’t stop seeing a dog. And so, uh, I think it’s just nice to have those animals in our presence and then also in the room, right? Um, there’s something beautiful about the way that a dog naturally will go towards a person to provide some comfort, to provide some care, picking up on the distress that we have and moving closer so that we can feel soothed and what a helpful thing it is to be able to have that and to be able to pet a dog, uh, while we’re discussing challenging things so that you can feel as safe and com and comfortable and secure as possible.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
And I would, I would agree with all of that that he just said. And then, then that dog helps us, right? Uh, help deliver the tools while you’re being, your, your cortisol is being lowered by petting the dog and your stress levels kind of become more ba like, comes down and you become more regulated. And so in that process then you’re able to hear the techniques and the different things that are being done to help you, uh, facilitate towards hope and healing, which then actually provides the opportunity for your clinician to be the best Christian counselor that Texas has to offer. And so it is a very, um, exciting opportunity, uh, to have Dwight, he’s our standard poodle. And then Bella, who’s our golden retriever re we, uh, rescued her August 1st of last year. And so she’ll be trained soon, but she has to kind of be around a year before we can actually set her free to be actually a therapy dog.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Um, and so, uh, but Connie uh, Connie is also our German Shepherd. He used to be in the therapy room and um, but it’s been, I don’t know if he’s just gotten older, but he kind of got freaked out during the COVID time and different things that were going on. And so he hasn’t really been the same since, but he is in the home. He does make appearances every once in a while, but for the most part he kind of stays to himself. But, uh, and then Teddy was at my very first therapy dog and we laid him to rest in 2023, but I knew how integral, um, this and, and instrumental that, that part was that I, the very next year is when I found Dwight. And so we got Dwight and, uh, we’re really thankful for him. He’s very energetic, happy, but chill all at the same time, but he’ll play when you wanna play.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
But he does, uh, he does bring a, a great sense of, um, continuity of care and, and, and the clinicians counsel, the, the clients that the clinicians have. Um, if there, if there’s three of us going at the same time, every one of ’em wants the dog <laugh>. So we, we have, so we we’re looking for a develop, get and be, uh, trained and certified to be a, a therapy dog, um, which is, uh, more than just an emotional support dog. So there’s lots of training that goes into all that there. So we’ll have a couple of dogs to choose from. Not all locations will have the dogs eventually in time. I think that’ll be something we can do. But for right now, we just have the ones at NASA Bay location. So is there anything that you would like to add that maybe might be instrumental as people kind of see or read about you, um, that you would like to kind of let them know, um, what to kinda maybe expect, uh, with you Sony?
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Yeah, I think, you know, first and foremost, I’m always going to try to listen, um, without any judgment, without forcing my perspective on you. I just want to hear from you what’s important and what’s going on in your inner world. Um, I’ve had past negative experiences with therapy myself. I know how defeating you can feel to walk away being like, I came here for help and I got the opposite. And so I never wanna create that experience for you or for anyone else that comes here. And so my job is to make sure you have a calm, safe, loving environment for you to work through whatever needs to happen. Um, and that’s how I try to show up and I want to adapt my tools, my skills, my training to fully fit what your unique or your unique needs are at the end of the day,
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Right? So one of the things too that we do as clinicians, as you know I mentioned early on is, um, I’m a licensed professional counselor supervisor with the state of Texas. And Sony started out with us in January and he became a licensed professional counselor associate. So there is hours that he, he has to meet before he becomes fully licensed. And so I’ve been given the opportunity, he chose me to supervise him. So you get two therapists for the, for the, for the, for the same, right? And so essentially he goes through and shares with me about what’s going on, um, in your life. And, and, and I help given the tools in addition to whatever he brings to the table. So that’s the beautiful part about coming here, is that you really do get the extra pieces and level of care that helps us provide, um, the most, uh, efficient way to, to facilitate the hope and healing that you so desperately deserve to have the optimal health you need the ideas of like, and the other part, like I like to add too, is we are in NASA Bay, Texas, we do, uh, practice out of a residential home currently.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
And so when we talk about getting out to exercise, we can actually get outside and walk the neighborhood. We can get out, go to the park and go feed the ducks and, um, play at the playground with the kids or walk around the lake. And so we get to kind of actually not only share what might be beneficial, but get to actually implement it with you in that same moment of time. So that’s also a, a great benefit too. So I love, um, I love that he’s here. I know that, uh, he’s gotten great feedback. Highly recommend you look him up on your website if you want more information. And then you can actually call and make an appointment by calling 9 7 2 7 6 8 0 7 5 4. And you can visit our website@illuminatedpathwaystherapy.net and you go to the About us page. Um, you can find about our find out information about the people who work here. Um, you get to learn a little bit about who we are and, uh, and, uh, we look forward to hearing from you, um, once again, uh, to kind of partner with us as we help take care of your needs. Um, we are the best Christian counseling Texas has to offer, and we look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you so much for participating in today’s podcast, and we look forward to meeting you soon. Bye-bye.