Speaker 1 (00:00):
<silence> Okay. All right. Well, hello, this is Rhonda with Illuminated Pathways Family Therapy. I’m so excited to be with you today, and I’m so excited that you’ve joined in and you get to hear a little bit about who we are. And, uh, I’m going to introduce to you one of my, one of my most favorite people that work here. And, uh, and I’m sure a lot of you say I say this with everybody, so it’s true. They’re all good, they’re all amazing. They’re all just really special and they’re used by God. And so I’m really thankful for that. But let me go ahead and tell you a little bit about who we are. So, um, my name again is Rhonda K Elders. Um, I’m a licensed professional counselor supervisor with the state of Texas, and I am the owner of this place. And it’s been really fun over the last year to kind of see it grow and get excited, um, about all the new, uh, all the new things that are happening.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
And, uh, we’ll share a little bit of that as we go through our podcast today. Um, our group practice uses evidence-based modalities in addition to the all the different populations of people we see from ages four and up. And we really love, uh, working with families and the network and the systems, and help bring families back to God’s original design. I’ve come to value also a holistic view to what we do here, and I love that because while medicine has its place and medicine can like provide us the things that we might need, it’s not always the thing we should use when it comes to our mental health. Um, and I really believe that God’s given us everything that we need to heal our bodies. If we’re given the right tools to how to do that, this is what we have learned to adopt here at Illuminated Pathways Family Therapy.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
So with this perspective, it gives clients access to a wider variety of therapeutic options before considering medication, empowering them to make informed choices about their treatment. And so that’s really important to me. I, um, while we are not doctors and we’re not in the medical field, we are part of health and human services. And so we do have a set, we do have great knowledge in how to help people attain, um, the very nutritional pieces and things in life so that they can get the things that they need, um, to help heal. So today I have Hannah Crawford with me, and we’re gonna begin to talk about the best family counseling Texas has to offer. And we want you to know why that, that we believe that so strongly. Um, so we, we do different things. So we have three locations. So here we are right now at NASA Bay, the most southern edge of Harris County, Southeast Harris County, um, city called NASA Bay, and of Houston, Texas. And we have Missouri City, which is adjacent to Sugarland, Texas, and we have Conroe, Texas. And so we have three different locations having a blast, growing, loving, uh, doing the things we love to do. We called what, what and what we are called to do. So come check us out and we’ll be happy to see you and take care of you. So, miss Hannah, um, there’s some exciting things coming up for you, isn’t there?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Yes, there is.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Yes. So I would like for you to just take a moment and first of all, just kind of talk about that exciting thing, um, before I like lose it and I spill the beans and I’d rather you talk about it.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Okay. Well, one of the most exciting things is I am wrapping up my master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling. I have attained all the hours that I need, and I’m going to pass my internship to class, which will allow me to graduate with a master’s in clinical mental health counseling. And I also passed my NCE <laugh>, which means that I am on the trek to earn my license as an LPC associate.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
That’s so exciting. Um, we had the pleasure of getting to know her in November, um, actually probably October made the transition in November. And so, oh my gosh, what a blast we have been having. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. So she’s been a great addition. Um, and, but it just goes to show that, so we, we, we not only are, um, fully licensed clinicians here, we’re, uh, provisionally licensed, which we’re licensed by the state, but there’s hours you still gotta collect. And then we take on students to help them become the best family counseling Texas has to offer and give them the opportunity to learn all the different ins and outs of our practice to help them make informed choices about their own life and their own career. Yeah. So she has chose to stay on with us, so that’s a great thing for our clients because she’s got a pretty good load of clients to see. So That’s awesome. So, um, so tell us, if you don’t mind, um, your career choices. You weren’t always like thinking about counseling, were you?
Speaker 2 (05:02):
No. Um, my bachelor’s is actually in criminology, so I thought about being an investigator. Um, but with the world as it was at the time that I was graduating, I decided that it wasn’t the best suited choice for me, um, just through the channels that I would have to go through. Um, not that I don’t still enjoy criminology, but it’s more of a hobby versus a career.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Okay. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. All right. Well, I know that it’s becoming coming helpful here when we talk about like safety concerns and she’ll say, Hey, did you think about this <laugh>? So it’s really nice, right? So, you know, when people come in with like different backgrounds mm-hmm <affirmative>. It’s such a great addition to even what you’re getting ready to do mm-hmm
Speaker 2 (05:45):
<affirmative>.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
And we get to think about those things and we help each other out and kind of go along, right? Mm-hmm <affirmative>. So thank you for that. You’re
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Welcome.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Um, so what sparked your interest in counseling?
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Uh, that story kind of goes all the way back to when I first started college. Um, I actually was trying to get a psychology degree and then I thought, Hmm, I don’t wanna write this many papers, <laugh>, and I make that face because as a master in a master’s program, you write a lot of papers, <laugh> mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, but true that, and also I wrote a lot in criminology. It’s really funny how it kind of comes around the corner. Um, but I felt that there was a calling for me to do counseling, but between, you know, life circumstances and things that just kind of happened, I kind of steered away from that idea, you know? Um, but then in I think late 2021 is when I was making the decision that I was going to go back to school and, um, for clinical mental health counseling for a master’s degree. Um, and then my dad passed away, which took my life a little bit off track there for about a year, but then I came back and that’s what I’ve been doing since.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Wow. Well, thank you for sharing that. Sensitive is part of your life. Um, I know that for me, I’ve been in, been doing counseling since 2008. So we’ve been, I’ve been running this practice for 11 years and, uh, but counseling since 2008. And so I know that there’s a lot of ins and outs that happen in your life. And so, um, I know that we are blessed, uh, having you here. Um, your, your vision, your expertise, your willingness to learn and try all these different new things has really made it fun around here. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. And you’re very social. You’re very, um, she’s like one of our social bees, uh, butterflies, maybe I should say <laugh>. And she gets everybody to communicate, which is fantastic. I love it. So, um, but I really am, I’m thankful that you chose us and, uh, so many, many years to hopefully to come. So we’ll see what happens with that. So, um, what, what do you think about like our animal therapy?
Speaker 2 (08:06):
I love it. Um, I love that I get to come to work and have three dogs to play with and pet while I’m in between sessions and even in sessions when they want to join. Um, I’m a huge animal lover and I do believe that animals help in therapy. Um, that was the second choice that I was gonna do, is gonna work with animals whenever it was gonna be therapy and then animal therapy. Wow. So I’ve wanted to have this kind of environment since 2021 when I was making this decision.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Wow. So you knew about animal therapy before? Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
See,
Speaker 1 (08:41):
And for me, I didn’t mm-hmm <affirmative>. Like I didn’t even know it was a thing. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Like,
Speaker 1 (08:44):
It wasn’t even like discussed and any of the things, right. So I went and worked at my first internship and they brought, they brought in these animals. I’m like, this is really cool. Like, wow, this is pretty effective. And I thought, ah, and so since then, um, yeah, that’s what we did.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Yeah. Pretty wild, huh?
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
So I think 20 20 13 was the first year I did, uh, animal therapy. And I went to, um, university of North Texas and took the classes for animal assisted therapy. So there’s actual classes for clinicians, um, to take. So it’s extra outside the master’s program. And then you go through an actual work, um, with a program to help the, the dog become, ’cause it’s not an emotional support dog, not the same, an emotional support dog is just something a little doctor can write off something for you. This is an actual animal assisted therapy clinic. And so, um, Dwight is fully assessed. Bella will be next. Connie was assessed, but Connie during c he got some anxiety with the masks, so that kind of changed him a little bit. Um, and so he just kind of the house dog, um, if you will. And then, but Bella will be next. And Bella, we rescued her, um, August 1st this past year. So, but anyway. So the best family counseling Texas has to offer, brings us quite a bit of opportunity, doesn’t it? Yes,
Speaker 2 (10:08):
It does. So
Speaker 1 (10:09):
What do you think it brings for you?
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Um, it brings, well, even though I see individuals, the, the topic is still a lot of times family issues. So even if an individual is seeking counseling and they are part of a family, sometimes working with the one individual will kind of cascade into the other areas of their life. And even in issues that somebody is, uh, experiencing in the present falls back all the way into the past when they were growing up with their, their family. So having a family systems look at how therapy works, it’s, you’re able to see, oh, this is where I’m gonna <laugh>. Um, you’re able to see dis different aspects in how family works for people and how it, the, the family unit works for each individual or even couples children. We see everybody from ages five and up. And it doesn’t matter what kind of background they come from, we’re we’re always open right to everybody. Right?
Speaker 1 (11:21):
So it’s really kind of odd because, you know, your family’s your normal family, whether we say, well, every family’s dysfunctional. I know you’ve heard that. I know I’ve said it <laugh>, I know I’ve said it for my own family. Like every family has some sort of dysfunction, right? So, but the thing is, is that because you’re normal is what you know mm-hmm. Like how you operate, how you communicate, how you, you expect like telepathy to happen. Like I know what you’re thinking when it’s not at all <laugh>. You know, you can’t unzip somebody’s head and look inside and go, oh, that right there is where I’m thinking. Right? And so I think for many families, they don’t realize how much work can go, like a little bit of work. Lemme put it this way, a little bit of work to go into your family, uh, goes a long way to helping you function at a much more optimal way.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
So effective communication, learning how to, like body language. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Like body languages used to be like, I don’t know, 75 to 80% of your language. Now it’s about 85, 80 5% of language communication is body language. It’s what you’re not saying, but you’re saying a whole heck of a lot, right? And so that idea is like, and so, and then the rest of it’s like 10% is communication and five, 5% is lost in translation. Why? Because everybody’s using these to communicate and they’re not learning how to communicate otherwise. So that’s why. And then we’re assuming, oh, well that was all caps in that text, so you’re yelling at me, or you used a word that not text worthy, like, or, you know, you know what I’m talking about. So this idea of what happens inside the family, and so kind of helping families get to where they need to be to put them in a place where they can really, um, get where they want to be.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
So by coming to illuminated pathways, they get the best family counseling Texas has to offer. And so we would love to have you come and the phone number to call is (972) 768-0754. And I know that for anybody here, um, listening, uh, you can get a consult, talk to a counselor, we have several to choose from. You can go to our website and check that out. And, you know, it would be so much fun for you to realize, um, honestly, at first it might feel like it’s nervous, it’s overwhelming, but then when you’re like, oh my gosh, I know the tools, I can actually do this, and it makes it funner, right? You’re not so like, oh my gosh, this is horrible. So I think that, that, that will be really a great way. And I know that for me, you know, when I get a kid or a teenager, I get the family
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
Because if I don’t do anything with the family piece of that, I’m counting on the child to make the difference in the family. And while that can be an influence, they really don’t have the say they’re not running the house, they’re part of the family.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
So that’s why we need the family to incorporate. And so we can then bring in those things and everybody gets heard and seen. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
There’s
Speaker 1 (14:19):
Effective pieces to get dinner into play. And so, like, we could take without saying names, so we can take like a, a mother daughter with a little B boy, and, and we can kind of think about like, um, just so you know who I’m talking about, like when one feels like they’re left to do something that they don’t wanna do, and then, then they’re like, I don’t know, we, we put children in charge when they shouldn’t be in charge. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Right? And, and just ’cause of convenience. And I know, listen, I’m sure I did it. My kids are in their thirties and I’m sure they could probably, these walls could talk. I’m sure they would. So in the idea, like that happens, right? Mm-hmm <affirmative>. But what we would learn as we are counselors, like, ooh, how unhealthy that is. And so really teaching maybe there’s ideas of responsibility, but not full responsibility. And so, um, what, what are some things that you’ve seen that, you know, that would be helpful at, um, letting other people know that we have the best family counseling Texas has to offer?
Speaker 2 (15:23):
So, um, one of the parts for counselors is advocacy. So advocating for your client, whether it’s the child or the parent, because sometimes there’s, when there’s dysfunction in the family, the communication is not there for them to be able to communicate their needs in an open and safe place for both parties to be heard. Right? Right. So while the child may feel, you know, I have too much responsibility, maybe the parent is, well, I don’t have enough help. So being able to communicate those two pieces to where they both can align and they can both find the structure that works for both of them. So you can advocate for both. While the child might be your client, you also have to help the parent others understand, right. And help the child understand.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
Right. Yeah. Very good. See why we like her <laugh>. That’s why we like her. Right. Um, so when you set out to do, like, I’m gonna do counseling, usually there’s kind of like a population that we wanna start seeing, what was that for you? Initially? Initially? And then we’ll then we’ll talk about further in. But initially, what was that that you felt in your heart, this is what I wanna do. These are the people I wanna see,
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Uh, individuals that had trauma.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Okay. Okay. And then coming here, what have you learned since that initial thought?
Speaker 2 (16:57):
I actually enjoy working with teenagers. <laugh>.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
See? <laugh>. See, so we never really know. I mean, we feel we, and, and by the way, I’m sure you’d be great with trauma, which you
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Are. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
But the idea is to say that like, well, that’s a great skill set to have, but you don’t really realize like those that you are in front of, like, wow, just never really thought that about me. And then God just continues to shape it and mold it and do those things, right? Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Yes. That’s awesome. Absolutely. Very good. <laugh>. Um, so what are some things that stand out with illuminated pathways that you, you like, or not that, I mean, if you don’t like it, you don’t like it, but what are some things that you find are, um, like you were thankful that you ca not only think of that you came, but like you realize that being here, like this is great or this is helpful. What are those things? And, and let’s kind of see if we can banter a little bit back about it.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Um, one of the things I really appreciated was the amount of knowledge that’s in these walls. Not just from you, but from everybody else and their walks of life and all the resources that you have. That is a piece that was, I felt was lacking before I got here. Just the amount of information that I could kind of absorb about different modalities, different techniques, different theories, all these things that I had not previously looked at, I was starting to look at. So that’s been a really interesting piece. Um, you know, while getting a little technical here, I was all about CBT, you know, cognitive behavioral therapy. But now I’m learning different pieces from other, other theories that I’m like, oh, I really like this piece. Well, I like this piece. And so I’m almost becoming a m podge of <laugh> of what I like to do, because there’s just so many different options.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Yeah. I know that, um, you know, I, I do, I have a lot of resources and so I’ve been doing this a minute. So, uh, and, and I, and I’m kind of, um, well, I’m not kind of, I am O-C-D-I-I, I, I’m very structured in general. And so, uh, but I have resources up the wazoo. And so anybody that comes here, they get to kind of pick out what, you know, Hey Rhonda, do you have an idea about such and such topic? Um, this is what’s happening in the session. And so I say, yep. And I’m, there it is. And so I really do try, sometimes it can rolls right out, right? Some of it, sometimes it takes me a minute. Let me think about that.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
But in general, um, because I’ve done so much and I’ve done, uh, so many different types of cases, um, I am known in the community for sexual assault counseling. And one of the coolest things that we’re gonna get to do, um, is work with Elijah Rising. And Elijah Rising is a, um, human trafficking organization who rescues children and, and women, um, from the, from the horrible industry. I did just get a message from her to set up our next appointment to, to begin to plan. So June and July mm-hmm
Speaker 2 (20:04):
<affirmative>.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Is when that starts. Yep.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
So
Speaker 1 (20:06):
It’s pretty exciting. We’re gonna be, and that’s part of the World Cup. So the World Cup in Houston, Texas. So we get to take on and then that’s something extra, those that wanna participate with that. So I’m pretty excited about that.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
So, so the best family counseling in Houston, Texas has to offer. Um, we talked about animal therapy, we talked about, um, the idea of, uh, play therapy ’cause we have children. Um, but there, here’s some other things that we do here. Um, we are faith-based and we’re really, really proud of that. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
And, um, and that kind of has always been, but it’s been more an announced or pronounced, um, since COVID where people would call and they really wanted Christian counseling. Like they could sense things were not okay in our world, and they wanted somewhere to know that they could, they could come and, and feel comforted and prayed over. And, uh, but not everybody that comes here wants that. But in general, that’s who we are. And so we all are about bringing that, that system of the family that might not be working well, bringing it back to God’s original design, knowing that that functionality of how he wants it, really every family wants that. So we have the truth, the resources and the help and the knowhow to get people there. Um, Christian counseling, I really like to open this up to like pastors and their, their church leaders, um, the missionaries and the pastoral families where we have taken care of them before.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
And so we wanna continue to do that and be available, um, simbi, which is Save your Marriage before it starts. And while that is a premarital assessment, um, and way about six to seven sessions and great way to do something before you say I do is also very helpful and very, um, I don’t know, pretty dynamic for people who are married. And no matter how many years you’ve been married, and it will help actually pull out some things that you go, oh, I gotta fix this or tweak this and get you into a place that would be super helpful. So everybody that works here, illuminated Pathways is a facilitator for that assessment. And so it’s very important for me that if I want people to work here, that they are aligned to everything that we do here. So that’s, that they’re all faith-based, they’re all Christian, um, and, uh, play therapy, not everybody does play therapy, but they can all learn it because I, while I’m not a registered play therapist, I am highly trained.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
And so I’m able to teach others how to do that. So every therapy room is set up for play and there is something in every room to help the children and teens do the things they need to do to have good, healthy therapy sessions. We have marriage counseling again, um, there’s a lot invested in a marriage. And when we’re in a marriage and that’s not going well, I don’t want people to feel that their only option is to get a divorce. So those that do that, save your marriage before it starts, or simbi assessment, no matter where you’re at in your marriage, 94%, this is their statistics, not just ours. Their statistics are those that do that assessment, 94% of marriages are saved. And that’s a pretty good statistic. So I really believe in that. Then we also offer like management for like anger, right? How to manage behavior modifications. A-D-D-A-D-H-D, um, they call it crash outs now, <laugh>. And now used to be like you had a meltdown, like now it’s crash outs. So gotta keep up with the lingo. That’s what we do here, <laugh>. And so, um, but so anger management, right? So we teach kids, but most times anger outbursts look very similar to panic attacks. Symptomatology is almost across the board the same. So they don’t realize how much, maybe that’s anxiety mm-hmm
Speaker 2 (24:10):
<affirmative>.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
That they really, they’re dealing with that brings about the irritation, anger. And so really once they realize they get that under control, they’re able to have better self-control. So, and then we help people, again, we talked about trauma, talked about grief, um, and we do have, um, like executive functioning. So since COVID, there are a lot of people that have brain fog and, and so we, we have ways to help them. Um, we have, um, I have a modality that I use called image transformation therapy. And it helps even with tinnitus or tinnitus, whatever word you choose, tomato, tomato. Um, so, and, uh, there is an actual doctor’s office in the area that sends our client their, their patients here, because we’re able to help them with that. And so, um, that’s really not an ear issue, it’s a brain. Um, and so when we can heal the brain, um, through, uh, cognitive behavior therapy pieces, they actually reduce the tinnitus, the ringing, and it actually reduces it, and they’re able to get rid of it.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
So it’s really kind of, it’s a beautiful method by the way, and it helps so many things. It’s a game changer. And then, um, and then there’s like recoveries for like alcohol, drugs, pornography, gaming, social media. And so we don’t realize how much of that takes in sex up time, and it really can affect our life personally, our marriages, our families. So, um, again, it goes back to family, right? So being the best family counseling Texas has to offer, that’s illuminated pathways. Yeah. And we, the other part that’s really exciting is the award we got last year mm-hmm <affirmative>. Is we are, so Houston’s a number four city and the largest fourth largest city in the United States, Harris County. We are second in Harris County, which is covers Houston and other surrounding cities. Um, but Illuminated Pathways is number two, uh, based on Google. So we’re pretty proud of that. So we’re, we’re got a really nice reputation over here. Um, what are some other things kind of listed some of those that we do here? I’m sure there’s things that you could think of too, but what are some things that you really are excited about helping people with?
Speaker 2 (26:27):
Um, you kind of touched on it a little bit. Um, helping people through anxiety. Um, that’s one of the biggest things that I’ve seen, uh, kind of in my clientele. Um, those who I see anxiety is a really big issue for people. And, um, communication, being able to communicate with people. Those two pieces show up a lot in my sessions with a variety. I mean, I see 6-year-old and up, so I see a lot of issues surrounding those two pieces for people at any age, at any life stage, and in any environment, even with couples, even with families. Um, those two pieces are really huge for them. Um, another piece would be, um, just education. Oh, yeah. Educating people on things that they were unaware of. Things that, um, you know, especially with Ed, with anxiety, people don’t understand that anxiety is actually normal. Yes.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
We’re natural. We naturally have anxiety as like our ins, you know, people call it instincts, but we were given God’s gift of anxiety to alarm us and to help us be aware of our surroundings. Right? Yeah. So that’s normal. And then we have excitement or apprehension. You know, we’re, we’re excited. You know, waking up the night, you’re going to bed the night before Christmas, waking up the next morning. I’m excited. That’s anxiety, but that’s good anxiety, right? That’s excitement. People don’t know. They hear anxiety and they think, oh, that’s bad. That’s bad. I don’t want that. I don’t want anything to do with that. It’s not an, the anxiety piece, it’s the anxiety overload that people struggle with, right? So that education piece helps normalize those emotions and those feelings for people that struggle with that. And that helps them ease into the healing process a little bit better.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Right. I love that. Because, you know, anytime like you’re, you’re gonna get up and talk in front of somebody, that anxiety that you’re feeling is actually natural. Yeah. Right. It’s gonna help you stay on your toes, be be aware of your surroundings, but when it gets out of control, that dysfunctional feel you have or you can’t regulate, that’s where we begin to work on those tools. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. But our body needs that anxiety. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. It tells us when it’s danger or when it’s exciting, when it’s not okay. When it’s okay. And it’s the same thing for anger, by the way.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
Right? So in the Bible it talks about be slow to anger, but then there’s a time where it talks about it’s okay to have a righteous anger. Mm-hmm
Speaker 2 (29:09):
<affirmative>. Right?
Speaker 1 (29:10):
So when is righteous anger in involved when children are being hurt and abused this chick, she has a righteous anger, don’t jack with the kids. Like, that’s kind of what’s known around here. And so parents that need help and get their families together, like our jobs to take care of your children, you adults need to get it together, but your children are affected by what that’s happening. So I’m all about like that anger that they’re presenting, it’s because they don’t know how to regulate, but they need to be able to be angry because it’s not okay what’s happening. But it’s not like we can’t say, well, you can’t be angry. Well, that’s like saying, well, you can’t breathe mm-hmm <affirmative>. Right? You tell me, okay, you’ve never had road rage. <laugh>, you’ve never honked your horn at somebody. Right? Like, come on, y’all. Like this is the thing.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
So when we tell our children that they can’t do these things, we’re teaching them that they can’t cry, they can’t be angry, and they can’t be anxious, what are they gonna do with all that pent up energy? It’s gonna come out and when it comes out, then all of a sudden they get in trouble. Right? So we gotta teach families this is the best way to help teach the best family counseling Texas has to offer others how to regulate themselves. And when it’s okay to do, do the, uh, or have those sensations or those, those feelings along the way. Um, and I, I think that that’s part, part of like the drive I have. ’cause that psychoeducation that you talked about right now, like, it’s so important. Like we don’t realize how important it is to let people know that it’s okay. Um, I, everybody handles loss different, right?
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
Yeah. And that’s, man, okay, you talking about family reunions, when do those happen? Like, I remember growing up, we had ’em every year. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Now family reunions happen, like at weddings or funerals, I don’t know, maybe you still have one that’s wonderful for you, but most of the time it’s during those and it’s like, like, like you, you get the best or the worst in people at weddings and funerals ’cause nobody knows how to deal. And everybody’s told like, oh, you can’t behave that way. You can’t think that way. Or Why are you feeling that? Or You’re still grieving, or like, who said there’s a timeline? Right? Like, um, so that’s really important to realize that, that there is no timeline
Speaker 2 (31:39):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
Um, and I look at that if I can, if I can kind of, and you can add to this if you’d like. Um, when I’m working with people who are working through something very difficult, I, I liken it to being out like in the ocean, maybe above the knee. Okay. Not deeper, just the water’s above the knee and, and then it, the water recedes, but at the top parts at the knee, above the knee. And, and sometimes the waves are gentle, right? And so sometimes when you’re grieving, it’s, it can be gentle and sometimes those waves just knock your knees out, right? And sometimes that grief just knocks you out, right? And you gotta learn to get your standing again. And sometimes it’s a little rough for a while. Like that under to is like, man, can it just stop? But isn’t that how it is?
Speaker 1 (32:32):
And if we can say that we don’t get over somebody, we get over a, a crashed car, you get a new replacement, you break a phone, you get a new phone, you get over that, but you don’t get over a loss. You learn how to go with the waves. Sometimes they’re gentle, sometimes they’re still, and sometimes they’re real rough. And we just have to learn how to teach people that is normal. And I, I love that when I’m able to give that analogy, it awakens them to like, oh my gosh. Yeah. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. What is something that you’ve learned about that,
Speaker 2 (33:11):
About grief specifically? Well, just
Speaker 1 (33:13):
Teaching people or maybe even yourself, like with your dad. I mean, you don’t have to talk about your dad, but like, grief is different. Grief.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
It’s not
Speaker 1 (33:20):
Yeah. Grief.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
Yeah. Grief is different. Um, I guess in, uh, to speak to that, um, in my journey I discovered that there’s grief, then there’s prolonged grief. Yeah. And they are two different experiences. And to, it’s unfortunate when people go through that, but the people who don’t have not had a loss to that level, it’s hard for them to understand what that looks like. Yeah. That missing piece. So it’s not just, uh, having people understand their grief, but maybe their loved ones, maybe in the family, you know, maybe in a couple’s situation, we have one that experiences grief and one that doesn’t. And it’s not just un having the person who’s going through the grief understand it’s the person who’s walking beside the person who’s experiencing it. Yeah. Having both of them understand.
Speaker 1 (34:21):
Right. So, eliminated pathways, um, we have a grief, uh, sorry, we have a grief support group every Friday at five. It’s online Texas wide. It’s a great way, um, to, to come participate. There’s seven sessions, it’ll rotate every seven weeks. It’s just gonna be seven sessions and keep going every Friday at five. And we want to do that because we, we feel like it’s a great way to kind of help the family. I mean, if we talk about like, people who have like an addiction, we have the person who is the one who struggles with the addiction, and then there’s the family who also suffers watching that person with the addiction. So this grief counseling support system that we have on Fridays at five is for every person. And it’s gonna be helpful across the board. Um, so that’s, I think what I’m gonna let that, how I have it structured.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
And so, um, it allows people to just come in and out. Um, you know, if we’re gonna be on session four this week, today at five, um, and it’s $75 per person, um, to attend. And so you just call 9 7 2 7 6 8 0 7 5 4. And, um, and I think that that would be great. So each Friday, five o’clock grief supports, uh, group and, and it, whether it’s you personally dealing with the grief or you’re on the outside looking at the grief of what happened maybe to your loved one or your partner or you, you don’t understand why somebody’s still suffering or grieving. It’s, it’s not about you. Right? I hate to say it like that. It’s about the person going through it. And the more you can learn to adopt that in every area, actually it’d be super helpful for everyone in the family. So this is why we really work on being the best family counseling Texas has to offer.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
I’m really excited that you took time to join me today. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Hannah, we’re very excited for you. Congratulations on passing that big exam. Thank you. And so you’re very welcome. And we are, we are blessed to have you. And so I’m really glad you reached out in November. Yeah. Is the best decision I made. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. I know for sure. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, and I’m not just saying that. Yeah. I really believe that in my soul. Yeah. Um, so in conclusion, as we wrap up, I want to invite you to call 9 7 2 7 6 8 0 7 5 4 to schedule a consultation with one of our amazing counselors. And we have another one coming on soon. Um, we’re very excited about that. She’ll start the 26th. Um, and then we have some students starting, um, pretty soon too. So I’m really excited about that. Also. You are welcome to visit our website, learn a little bit more about us.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
Net is illuminated pathways therapy.net. And you can see our counselors, their bios. You can kind of take a peek at some of the things we do here, who we are, what we stand for, um, and, and just kind of realize that we really are here for the community and what God put us in front of. Um, but we really wanna be the best family counseling Texas has to offer so that you can also see that here, not only for your personal life, but maybe even for your family. Um, but, um, is there anything else you would like to say?
Speaker 2 (37:52):
No, I just thank you for this opportunity to join you and to join today.
Speaker 1 (37:55):
Yes. Thank you so much. Have a blessed day, everyone. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. We look forward to meeting with you again and tell next time, um, keep the joy in your heart and a song in your heart. And, uh, and know that God loves you and we do too. We’re praying for you to walk through our door. We might not know you yet, but that’s yet. And so we look forward to seeing you soon. Bye-bye. Okay, cool.