We were lucky to catch up with Sheila Burns recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Sheila thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you share an anecdote or story from your schooling/training that you feel illustrates what the overall experience was like?

I had started my undergraduate program intending to study business. I took a number of psychology and sociology courses to fulfill electives and found that I really enjoyed what I was learning in these classes. This information still felt relevant to business overall, but eventually my interest began to shift more. In one of my introductory psychology courses we had the opportunity to gain extra credit by having graduate students interview us and practice their counseling techniques. I participated in this and was shocked at what a profoundly insightful experience it was for me. It started a deeper quest for knowledge and understanding of how the correlation between our thoughts, feelings, behaviors and experiences in relationships helps to form our personality. I ultimately changed my major to Psychology and went on to become a counselor myself.

Sheila, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

So often people live a compromised life that leaves them feeling unfulfilled, anxious and unhappy. My passion is to help you overcome barriers and make changes towards having a more satisfying life. We are resilient beings that have the power to overcome many adversities, leading to a clearer sense of self. In therapy You can improve your overall mental health and sense of wellbeing by working through behaviors, beliefs, compulsions, thoughts and emotions. I utilize a variety of evidence-based practices and interventions that are best suited to your presenting issues. Interventions utilized include Cognitive Behavioral (CBT), Dialectic Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR), Motivational Interviewing (MI), a Multi-Systemic Approach, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Narrative Therapy, Behavior Modification, Insight Oriented and Supportive treatment.

Are you ready to move forward in your life, free from circumstances and emotions that have held you back? Making the investment in your wellbeing can help you become the person you want to be, living the life you hoped for. Risk and change are scary ideas, but together we can examine what is holding you back and develop a plan that will lead to positive, lasting life changes. Choosing a counselor and entering a treatment relationship can seem overwhelming at first but taking that step can be your first movement towards a better life.

I specialize in recovering from trauma and offer counseling that is deeply compassionate, non-judgmental, authentic, and confidential. My counseling style is strength based, supportive and empowering, while motivating you to make identified changes which will lead to success.

I currenlty have a therapy dog, Reno working with me. He loves everybody and is always happy you have arrived and is there to greet you!

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

My niche has become helping people overcome trauma, particulalry complex life long trauma related to their relationships with parents or caregivers. This niche happened naturally over time, without me even realizing it. Trauma has always been a special interest of mine and as I treated people to effective outcomes they would tell others about their success. This led to referrals from other treatment professionals. I have a genuine passion and truly enjoy working with this population. Capturing your success through social media is also important. If you are doing something well, others need to be able to find you. Having general information about your business and what you do available is important. People are drawn to others who seem relatable to them, in both our personal and professional lives.

Have you ever had to pivot?

There have been several pivots in my career, necessitated for various reasons. In my under graduate studies I started out as a business major. For extra credit I participated in several research studies that psychology students were conducting. One particular interview had a profound impact on me and caused me to look at myself and my relationships differently. This led me to pursue more courses in psychology and eventually to change my major. In my graduate program I had a young family and needed to maintain an income, but have the time to attend full time studies. I started a professional painting business, which allowed me to have complete control over my work schedule and to sustain an income that could support us. I liked the balance of doing phyical work and mental work. In the end, you have to pursue what you feel passionate about.

Contact Info:

• Website: Refreshing-Waters.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/refreshingh2os/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063767671877&ref=bookmarks
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheila-burns-40a166145/