Embedded Files
Eleanor Whitaker, M.Ed., MSN
Resident in Counseling
License #0704-018928
Hello and welcome. Thanks for being here.
I believe that people have within them what they need to lead more fulfilling lives. I also believe that challenges and difficulties in life afford us opportunities for insight and personal growth. My goal as a counselor is to build a genuine and collaborative relationship with you based on warmth, trust, safety, and hope. It's a great privilege to work with people as they grow, heal, and change.
During therapy, there is both learning and unlearning. While there are many modalities that can help people feel better, sometimes we have to take it in steps, calming the nervous system before we can understand the reasons we think, feel, and act the way we do. Ideally, therapy will increase the joy and gratitude you have in your life.
Counseling should be empowering for clients. During therapy, I gravitate towards emotion focused, trauma informed, strength based, and solution focused approaches. I also use techniques from Internal Family Systems therapy, somatic therapy (including voice), culturally sensitive therapy, polyvagal theory, and dream work. I also believe in mindfulness and consider it vital that we intentionally nourish our nervous systems.
Experience and Education
Counseling is an evolution for me. I began my career as a nurse practitioner and appreciate that we are now seeing neuroscientific research that proves what we have long intuitively known—that emotional pain can be trapped in the body—and that we simultaneously recognize that we all possesses a quality called neuroplasticity, which is an innate capacity to grow and change. Neuroplasticity provides an additional way for people to address difficulties both past and present.
After working as a nurse, I became a teacher of preschool, then elementary, and finally middle school children and adolescents. I love working with children, and I am committed to meeting children where they are and practicing child-centered play therapy. In addition, I believe group work can be a powerful source of healing for both children and adults.
I received my Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the College of William & Mary, which is accredited by the Council for Accreditation and Relational Programs (CACREP). I also hold a Master’s Degree in Nursing from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a B.A. from Centre College.
Interests
My counseling interests include grief and loss, trauma, women's issues, LGBTQIA+ matters, parenting, anxiety, depression, religious issues, and life transitions.
I received training in EMDR trauma-informed therapy through Thrive, and somatic training and mindfulness-based therapies through Linda Thai, LMSW. Linda continues to be an ongoing educational and inspirational resource for me along with many others.
Additional Interests
When I am not working, I enjoy spending time with family, friends, and animals, listening to music, reading and writing poetry, gardening, playing games, traveling, being outdoors (which sometimes means planting trees on the sly), and watching futbol.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse