Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Sammons
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My journey up until this point has been quite eclectic. I began my academic journey in 2013, at West Virginia University, and switched majors pretty frequently. I settled upon Psychology with a minor in Child Development. I had hoped to become a therapist for kids who had lost a parent, as this was my experience growing up. I felt unsupported during that time in my life and wanted to be what I didn’t have for someone else.
As I went through my first few semesters, I allowed others to convince me that I wasn’t cut out for graduate school; I knew that having a bachelor’s in psychology wasn’t going to get me where I wanted to go without furthering my education. I had always held a love of being outside and felt connected to the earth, always fascinated with rocks and fossils. I switched to Geology and enjoyed my time learning. However, I ran into a roadblock with financial aid and was unable to finish my degree in Geology. This roadblock turned out to be the best thing that had ever happened to me. I was able to graduate with a Bachelors of Multidisciplinary Studies (BMdS) with a focus in Geology, Geography and Environmental Protection. While delving deeper into Geography course work, I fell in love with learning about how the space and places we occupy help to form our identity. Geography allowed me to think about how I connect to the land that I’m from, and to have a greater appreciation for the land that I live on.
During my time in the Geography program, I was taken under the wing of my later to be advisor, Martina Angela Caretta. She truly showed me that I could have confidence in myself and in my work as a woman in academia, pushing me to think much more critically than I ever had done before. This confidence allowed me to apply to a graduate program, which I had previously felt was not in the cards for me. I ended up pursing a masters in Geography with a graduate certificate in Women and Gender Studies with her as my chair at West Virginia University. However, as I got further into the degree, and learned more about place-based identity, I began to feel drawn back towards the counseling field.
Throughout my academic career, I navigated my own mental health struggles- many resurfacing from childhood that I was never given the space nor opportunity to explore, nor did I allow myself to look inward at. Being on my own away from my family of origin allowed me to begin that inner work and truly start to find my purpose. Throughout the program and through my own healing, I learned more about the connections between mental health and the environment which precipitated the difficult decision to apply to the counseling program and leave almost two years of work in Geography behind.
Throughout this decision, I was very well supported by my Geography graduate program and was able to finish the degree I had started and begin the first year of counseling courses at the same time. Throughout the counseling program, I focused on Attachment Theory and Trauma, completed practicum at a college counseling center, and interned at a trauma-focused residential treatment facility for teens. I graduated with my MA in Geography & Certificate in Women and Gender Studies in August 2020 and graduated with a MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in May 2021. I worked at the same residential treatment facility that I interned at for a little over a year and became extremely burned out. I then transitioned to a small group private practice that helped me understand how to develop my skills and hone in on a niche. From there I landed at another small group practice that I felt was a better fit for my personality and gave me more autonomy.
In the last year and a half, I began building my own practice where I offer services that are in alignment with both my professional, personal and spiritual journey. This process has been one of grit, growth, heart break, and joy. One that has enriched my life in ways that I never could have thought and has allowed me to understand what it means to heal in myself and walk alongside others in their healing journey instead of leading them down the path.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has certainly not been a smooth road, but each bump along the way has held its own purpose and provided its own lessons. Some of the biggest struggles came in trusting myself and following my own intuition. For much of my life, I struggled with what I later would find out was undiagnosed PTSD, OCD and Autism/ADHD. I had been diagnosed with Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome in middle school and had experienced medical trauma as a result. For a long time, I was stuck in a fog, unable to access my inner truth to be able to lead with my intuition rather than from a narrative of what had happened to me throughout my life.
This is the template that I had to work from, and it was extremely difficult to get out of on my own. Of course, I still struggle at times with the symptoms that have followed me, but I have found myself in periods of full remission from PTSD and OCD. Learning what it means to be neurodivergent and unlearning a lot of shame that was instilled in me through being raised in a household that was emotionally neglectful and volatile has been the biggest part of my journey.
No one really tells you what being chronically ill looks like across the lifespan. You have a problem, you go to the doctor; and if you get lucky, they give you a diagnosis and then potentially treatment. I am very fortunate, because my hEDS diagnosis came early on in my journey. Most people that I interact with go years or decades before they have parameters to explain their physical world and inner experiences. This process is fraught with appointment after appointment, having no answers for debilitating symptoms to be told “your labs look normal- eat better, lose some weight and we will check again in 6 months- oh and by the way, have you ever tried therapy or anti-anxiety meds?”.
The impact that this invalidation can have on someone’s mind and body is immense.
After years of questioning myself and my own internal reality, I began working with a different type of therapy called The Comprehensive Resource Model (CRM). This has been life changing and has allowed me to discern between my own truth and that which was passed onto me, and has greatly improved how I view and experience physical symptoms. I now have a better understanding of how to advocate for myself and know how to cope more effectively when a mental trigger is exacerbating physical symptoms. CRM has allowed me to deepen my connection with myself and my intuition and has been an invaluable tool to my personal life and mental health practice. Utilizing this model for integrative trauma therapy has truly been a gift in various areas of my life.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Radiant Self Counseling LLC?
I started Radiant Self Counseling LLC in 2023 with the hope of breaking free from the traditional therapy model and to offer eclectic services that are not normally found in within the medical system. I help adults in Pennsylvania and Ohio heal from the past and re-connect to their inner radiance through integrative trauma therapy.
A lot of times it can be hard to find a silver lining, especially if you’ve been in therapy for months or years and are still feeling stuck. Maybe you’re feeling like therapy just isn’t for you, and no matter how hard you try, something always feels “off”. You might be tired of living a life that is cast in the shadow of others’ wants and needs or you might feel like your childhood wasn’t “that bad”. After all, it seems that others have had it worse, and you don’t “qualify” for trauma therapy.
This couldn’t be farther from the truth. We are all dynamic beings living this human experience and are impacted by the generational, societal, and individual traumas associated with living in this day and age. Just because you may not meet criteria for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), does not mean that you haven’t experienced trauma. I truly believe that with integrative trauma therapy, we can work together to re-discover the person you are, and who you were always meant to be.
Most of my clients identify with one (or more) of the following identities or symptoms: Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents- or Narcissistic Parents, Attachment/Developmental Trauma and Dissociation, Late Diagnosed Neurodivergence, Chronic Pain and/or Illness, and also may be members of the LGBTQ2S+ Community.
What makes me different, is that I’m not afraid to try new things in the therapy space and I work relationally to break down power differentials in the therapeutic space. Being separated from others, source, and ourselves is what precipitates the symptoms or diagnoses that we carry. We heal when we are in company with those who understand our struggles and feel comfortable to ask questions we’ve never thought about asking before. I believe that clients deserve a therapist who understands at the deepest levels and can walk alongside them through their journey. I enjoy working with my intuition and spirituality to create comprehensive programs for clients, and love helping those who are looking for a more spiritually based and holistic care routine in healing their trauma.
Some newer things that I’m working on are launching intensives for integrative trauma treatment, health navigation coaching for chronically ill folx, continuing education for mental health and allied health professionals, and more spiritually led workshops and groups.
What does success mean to you?
Success to me is something that is constantly being redefined and evolves as I do. With where I’m at in my healing journey and overall life path, I view success as the ability to be present. To approach everything that I do with love and balance, and to be able to take a moment to stop and view things from as clear of a headspace as possible. Success is waking up in the morning and connecting with my loved ones and internal resources, checking in with my mind and body and moving forward through my day with intent, even if the intent is only to be present. Having the ability to have a slow morning and go about each day with an open heart is an opportunity that I never would have thought could be afforded to me. Success for me is being able to look back on a day and feel as though I’ve helped someone make a difference in their own life, and to be present with myself and to the world around me in ways that are in alignment with my values. There is nothing better than being able to be fully present to the things that you want to do, and enrich your life (for me- it’s reading anything I can get my hands on- The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon holds a special place in my heart, see below me at Lallybroch!)
Pricing:
- Individual Psychotherapy Intake: $150
- Individual Psychotherapy Sessions: $130
- Group Therapy & Workshops $40/50 Per Session- Discounts Available for Payment of Series/Workshop in Full.
- Other Offerings are in the works
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Headshot in green sweater- Little Rockstar Photography
Books and Cards- LightSpell Portraiture
Graduation Photo- Elizabeth Mireles