Today we’d like to introduce you to Janet Nicholas.
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?
I started a divorce recovery group with a woman 25 years my senior at a Christian counseling agency several decades ago. There were no such support groups at the time. My colleague and i had both been through divorce and we had sought help and wanted to do something to help others.
This led to me returning to college to become a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and grad school to become a Master’s level Licensed Professional Counselor.
Many years later while attending a professional weekend at a well known treatment center, I experienced equine assisted psychotherapy. I grew up with horses and they helped me to get through my teen years. I did not realize until that weekend how much i had pushed down my passion for horses. i returned and look for land. We had lived in The Woodlands for many years. I found the land and convinced my husband to move there. I got my first horse the same weekend we moved into our new home. I longed for a way to share my horses with others in a therapeutic and clinical way. Initially, I volunteered for SIRE, but found training to be able to create my own equine assisted therapy model.
For 17 years, I have had the privilege to work with my amazing equine facilitators and assist people to gain new insights, to grow in confidence, address their issues, and their traumas in inidivdual sessions, group sessions, and teambuildings. It has been an amazing journey.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
As with any endeavor there have been challenges along the way. However, I am passionate about continuing to learn and grow as an individual, a professional, and as a horse professional. I look at obstacles as ways to stretch us and to help us grow and be more resililient.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Janet Nicholas LPC LCDC?
I am a professional counselor (LPC) and a chemical dependency expert (LCDC). I see adults of all ages and teens 12 and up. I specialize in anxiety, ADHD, abuse, bipolar, depression, grief and loss, obsessive-compulsive disorder, marital and family issues, stepfamily dynamics, separation and divordce, and stress management, I am also EMDR trained( a specialized form of trauma therapy (in office and with the equines).
Several areas that set me apart are;
I am a Christian counselor but also see people from many different backgrounds and belief systems.
I am an expert in career counseling. I use a comprehensive career test and interview process to assist teens, young adults, and adults seeking career guidance and options.
I wrote a book on Stepfamilies in 2017, Stepping Stones to a Healthy Stepfamily. It is avaialbe on Amazon. i have been in a stepfamily marriage for 30 plus years.
My office is located at my ranchette in a beautiful wooded area, allowing for outdoor sessions in my garden or walking sessions on horse and walking trails. Clients are accompanied by Ms. Daisy.
I have an amazing therapy dog who has a PhD (professional healing dog). Her name is Daisy and she is an amazing Golden Retriever who helps all who have the privilege to meet her.
I conduct my equine assisted therapy and learning practice at my ranchette.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I am not prone to consider luck a factor. I belive that life has many twists and turns. Some are wonderful twists and others are hard. I believe the hard turns can grow us and teach us to be resilient and learn to grow through the struggles. I have gratitude for all the beautiful twists and turns no matter how wonderful or how hard.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.janetnicholas.com | www.trails-less-traveled.com
- Phone: 713.882.4268
- LinkedIn: Janet Nicholas LPC LCDC
