Today we’d like to introduce you to Cornelia Johnson, MA, LPC.
Hi Cornelia, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Cornelia Johnson, LPC and I am a Counselor in Spring Texas. My story starts with a deep love for helping people. Even as a child, others naturally came to me for advice and mediation. I knew by age 12 that I wanted to be a counselor. I was always the one helping resolve disagreements among friends and family, and I treated people’s stories with care. I’ve always treated secrets as sacred—if someone trusted me with their truth, I felt it was not my place to tell it.
As I got older, strangers would often say, “I’ve never told anyone this before,” before opening up to me. That confirmed what I already felt in my spirit. I began intentionally pursuing this path by working as an Administrative Assistant at a counseling office for abused women and children in The Woodlands Texas. While there, I paid attention to operating a practice with multiple counselors, making notes of ways I could run my business from an administrative standpoint. I made note of the counselors and counseling interns whose clinical approach resonated with me, noted where they went to school, and ultimately set my sights on Sam Houston State University.
At the same time, I earned my bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston–Downtown. I later helped my mom with her counseling practice that she opened, where I learned billing, credentialing, and the behind-the-scenes operations of running a practice. Throughout this process, my mother was an invaluable source of support and guidance, helping me lay the foundation for both the clinical and practical aspects of becoming a counselor.
I began offering the same services I learned to other counselors, handling everything except providing therapy. I turned this into a business by reaching out to practices that lacked insurance panels or administrative support. At one point, I was supporting 15 small and large practices at a time with billing, credentialing, scheduling, and administrative operations.
Eventually, I transitioned to providing consultations only after being offered a role with a large company in Houston for troubled youth that had offices all across Texas in a role that was just created. I worked directly under regional and national directors, further expanding my understanding of business operations and practice management.
During this time, I applied to my master’s program. After narrowly missing the required GRE score on my first attempt, I immediately retook the test and significantly improved my score. I was accepted into the Clinical Mental Health Counseling master’s program at Sam Houston State University and began my journey to become a counselor.
The journey was full of ups and downs, but I completed my master’s degree and began my journey toward full licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor immediately after graduation. As the daughter of a Gulf War veteran, it was especially meaningful to my father that I was able to utilize veteran educational benefits during both my bachelor’s and master’s programs, further supporting my path into the counseling profession.
Today, I create mental health videos to help people heal and evolve their thought process while I own and operate an expanded practice offering both in-person and virtual services named Optimize Your Living Counseling Center, and I also have a counselor working under me providing virtual therapy. My husband will also be joining the practice as an Addiction Counselor in the coming years. My story and the story of Optimize Your Living Counseling Center, LLC is one that is still being written so stay tuned.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road was not smooth along the way I navigated changes in the home and in the professional world with determination to get to where I was headed. Before I started to get jobs in the counseling field, I switched jobs a couple of times to navigate roadblocks and obstacles that could have held me back if I had to choose between the demands of the job and my goal to become a counselor. I married my high school sweetheart back in 2014, we bought our home in 2016 and planned out our family to build it intentional at the end of degrees, between degrees and after so we could have 3 wonderful children. Of course, navigating becoming a wife, homeowner and mother has its own highs and lows but I love every bit of it since I get to do it with my best friend. A fight for balance in my responsibilities for school and home was a consistent thing even though I was intentional about what moves I made. Despite all of this my husband and family has been the biggest cheerleaders and a support that has helped me navigate and find a balance as well.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Optimize Your Living Counseling Center LLC?
Optimize Your Living Counseling Center, LLC is a mental health practice rooted in the belief that healing is not one-size-fits-all. We provide counseling services designed to meet people where they are while helping them build sustainable, meaningful change in their lives.
We work with clients navigating life transitions, emotional regulation, trauma, stress, relationship challenges, addiction, personal growth, etc.. Our approach is practical, compassionate, and goal-oriented, blending clinical expertise with real-life application. We are known for creating a safe, grounded space where clients feel seen, heard, and respected.
What sets Optimize Your Living apart is our whole-person approach. We don’t just focus on symptoms; we focus on the systems, environments, and patterns that shape daily life. Our work emphasizes emotional awareness, accountability, skill-building, and empowerment. We aim to equip clients with tools that support growth beyond the therapy room.
The name Optimize Your Living reflects our core philosophy: helping individuals operate at their optimum potential. Optimization does not mean perfection—it means learning how to function more effectively within your current season, strengths, limitations, and responsibilities. We focus on helping clients make intentional adjustments that lead to healthier thinking, emotional balance, and improved daily functioning.
Brand-wise, we are most proud of our integrity and trust. Confidentiality, consistency, and professionalism are foundational to our practice and guide every level of care we provide.
Optimize Your Living Counseling Center offers both in-person and virtual services to increase accessibility while maintaining high clinical standards. Our brand represents growth, clarity, and intentional living. We want readers to know that this is a space where healing is purposeful, individuality is honored, and progress is approached with care and intention.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Over the next 5–10 years, I see the mental health industry continuing to be an essential and growing space as people navigate ongoing personal, societal, and global changes. The need for mental health support will remain strong, especially as awareness and openness around mental wellness continue to expand.
One of the most notable shifts I see is the increased integration of technology and AI on the administrative side of the industry. This is something I view very positively. When used ethically, AI can reduce administrative burden, improve efficiency, and allow counselors to spend more time doing what matters most—working directly with clients.
I also hope to see technology positively influence higher education and training by reducing unnecessary barriers and moving away from overemphasizing outdated processes that do not work; however, it is still important to hold on to the basic processes needed to create well informed counselors that can still do the work without AI and technology advancements. This would allow future counselors to focus more deeply on clinical skill development, critical thinking, relational competence but still be knowledgeable enough to get the job done if they are in a space where AI and technology is not readily available. A balance is needed.
Overall, I believe technology will continue to support the delivery of high-quality counseling services rather than replace the human connection at the core of the work. The future of the industry, in my view, is one where innovation enhances access, quality, and sustainability while preserving the integrity of the therapeutic relationship.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.corneliajcounselor.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/corneliajcounselor/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CorneliaJCounselor
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CorneliaJCounselor
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@corneliajcounselor
Image Credits
Devin Johnson
