Hi. I’m Cheryl!
I’m a Christian counselor, but you might also call me a teacher, a good listener or just someone who really loves to help people learn HOW to think and not WHAT to think.
I love helping people feel better! I love when my clients tell me “hey, that worked!” or “I am getting along much better with XYZ” or even “I’m feeling much better.” I love empowering people to take control of how they feel and stop feeling hurt by others.
I help people change their stinkin’ thinkin’, stop believing the lies they tell themselves and build hope for a better future. I also help people to learn to communicate better, not only with others but with themselves! (Bet you never thought you actually communicated with yourself!!)
I help people based on Christian beliefs without simply telling you to try harder, read your Bible more or pray more.
I know from my years of helping others and my own experiences that changing the way you think helps you change how you feel. You know what the best part is? YOU are the only one who can do that and no one can take that power away from you!
5 things I learned to beat depression
- I set realistic expectations. I learned that there is no such thing as “high” expectations or “low” expectations. Expectations are either realistic or unrealistic. Once I readjusted my expectations to be more realistic, I felt less like a failure. See, when you set an unrealistic goal for yourself and don’t meet that goal, you feel like a failure. Reaching realistic goals helps you feel successful!
- I changed my stinkin thinkin. I stopped seeing my thoughts as true or false. I started looking at them as helpful or unhelpful. When I began to think more helpful thoughts, my depression lifted and my anxiety went away.
- I learned to manage my emotions. The most empowering truth I learned was I am responsible for my own feelings. No one can make me feel anything!! Once I owned my own feelings, I was better able to change how I felt!
- I set boundaries. Boundaries are essential in all relationships. Learning to set boundaries helps you figure out where you end and someone else begins. But boundaries without consequences are useless, so learning to enforce more effective consequences helped me to maintain the boundaries I set.
- I learned to forgive. This was quite possibly the most freeing thing I have ever done. Forgiveness is not about the other person, but about me.
Bonus: I accepted I can’t, but God can. As a Christian, sometimes it’s hard to trust and rely on God. The more I admitted and accepted there were things I just could not do and relied on God to do them through me, the more I trusted in Him and saw how unneeded my anxiety was. As John 5:15 says “…apart from me you can do nothing.”
I believe understanding ourselves and understanding others can change the world. I also believe we talk to ourselves more than anyone else talks to us, and we lie to ourselves more than anyone else. So stop believing everything you think and request an appointment to come in and talk with me to see how I can help!
(If you are finding it difficult to have hope, that’s ok. I have plenty and you are more than welcome use some of mine.)
About Me
My education consists of a Bachelor of Science in Religion from Liberty University, and a Masters in Professional Counseling, also from Liberty University.
I am licensed with the State of North Carolina (license #10246) as a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor.
My counseling experience ranges from a church setting to a non-medical substance abuse detox facility.
I have been in private practice since 2013.
I have been a member of The Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina, since October 2010 and regularly attend the North Durham Campus.
I have played with the worship team (violin) at the North Durham Campus with Sam Fisher, and served with the counseling ministry under the leadership of Brad Hambrick.
I am currently serving our Deaf ministry helping to lead worship in ASL for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
I am the proud mother of four children: Samantha and her husband, James, and their two beautiful children Jimmy and Lizzy; Matthew and his wife, Kirsten, and their three beautiful children Adam, Ezra, and Iris; Christopher; and Candice.
Additional Credentials
- Certificate: ITAP / Certified Clinical Trauma Prof
- Certificate Date: 2017
- Certificate: AACC / Sexual Addiction
- Certificate Date: 2014
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!