Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Collins.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Michelle. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My story starts with my childhood. I grew up with a brother diagnosed with ADHD. I had to experience firsthand how difficult it was for my family to navigate things that seemed easy for most people. Things like social events, homework after school, family gatherings, etc. And back then, there was not a lot of education about how to understand kids with ADHD and how to help them.
This went on the back burner for me as I grew up, went to college, met and married my husband and moved to South Africa. However, while I worked in South Africa, I felt like God was putting a ton of young girls in my life who needed help getting through some of their difficult past situations. I was thrown into a counseling role and yet I knew I needed the training to truly help some of these young girls and women.
My husband and I talked and decided that I needed to go back to get my Master’s degree in counseling. So, we headed to Houston where I studied for my Master’s of Education in Counseling and learned from incredible people like Dr. Michelle Forrester & Dr. Poysky at Katy Child Psychology Associates.
So, when I felt called into counseling, I realized that all my experiences and passions came together in this profession. I have such a passion to help parents and children feel understood, empowered, connected and loved. When you can start with understanding, a lot of other conflicts can be resolved naturally.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Starting my own business was extremely scary for me. I knew I had the expertise and I knew I had the calling to work with children and families but I had no idea how to run a business. It was a vulnerable learning process but it taught me so much. In fact, the first client I ever had at Memorial Child & Family Therapy left before I even brought her back for our session!
I also had to constantly think 2-3 steps beyond where my business was at because it grew very quickly. I think some of the toughest points were making decisions to add someone on when I had just started because the client load was so high but not having the space to do that in and having to expand before I thought I was ready. These are great problems but owning your own business definitely keeps you on your toes and makes you get really creative.
Memorial Child and Family Therapy – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
At Memorial Child & Family Therapy, we specialize in treating children, parents, and individuals. We particularly specialize in treating anxious children, children with behavioral problems or children who have experienced trauma. I am a certified clinical trauma professional and am certified in Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing. All our therapist are trained in play therapy.
I am most proud of the way we prioritize people and strive to treat people with dignity and respect. We have all been in a place where we need help and we know how hard it can be to take the first step towards healing and change.
I’m also proud of the rigorous training and education of our therapists. We use only evidenced-based practices to create highly individualized treatment plans that are proven to help with the problems our clients bring to us. And we value continuous education and learning as well as collaboration with other play therapists. All our therapists collaborate weekly with other therapists on their treatment plans so that we can ensure that each client is getting the attention and treatment that they deserve.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
It’s a hard profession to be in because our success is based on people being able to feel understood, empowered, connected and loved. And sometimes the metrics on this can be somewhat difficult to nail down.
My most beautiful moments are when I get the honor of being in a sacred space where a child is being understood by a parent for the first time or where a parent is finally able to connect to their child in a deeply meaningful way. For example, when a parent who would usually punish or shame a child for their action begins to help emotion coach that child and the child’s actions change from hiding in a corner throwing things to running into his mom’s arms for a hug, that’s when my job just makes sense. Sometimes I get to experience this daily and sometimes it only happens after many months of work.
I also love to watch individuals achieve mastery over emotional triggers. Earlier today, one of my clients who came in experiencing intense, violent meltdowns 2-3 times a day, looked me in the eye when I told him he could not do something and told me that he was really frustrated with me. This might seem like a small thing, but for his parents and for any teachers interacting with him, this was an incredible victory. He was connecting and he was verbalizing his frustration instead of acting it out and I was celebrating him for the rest of the day.
Pricing:
- Individual sessions- $100-$120
- Group sessions- $50-$60
- EMDR Sessions- $120
Contact Info:
- Address: 14760 Memorial Drive, Suite 207
- Website: www.memorialchildandfamilytherapy.com
- Phone: 832-598-1734
- Email: admin@memorialchildandfamilytherapy.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/memorialchildandfamilytherapy/
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