I am a sport psychology fellow specializing in mental health concerns and performance optimization for athletes and individuals in high-stress occupations. I see children, teens, adults, individuals, couples, and run a therapy group. Although I specialize in sports/performance with athletes, I see all individuals who are struggling with depression, anxiety, panic, sexual health concerns, faith & life transitions, co-occurring medical concerns, ADHD, OCD, perfectionism, and other mental health concerns!

Sarah is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) specializing in working with women on identity formation and development, developing healthy relationships with others and self, life-stage transitions, and grief and loss.

Sarah holds a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University and a Master of Science in clinical mental health counseling from Mercer University. Her dual training is reflective of her passionate interest in the relationship between spiritual health and mental health. She has been formed by her professional experience in hospital, palliative care/hospice, and mental health settings and by her international volunteer work in Mother Teresa's Home for the Dying in Kolkata, India.

Sarah seeks to support her clients in building lives of meaning in alignment with their values. She incorporates narrative techniques to explore the wisdom in her clients' stories, and she integrates existential theory as clients navigate questions regarding relationships, trauma recovery, identity, purpose, and spirituality. Sarah believes in the power of the therapeutic relationship and empowers her clients to be active participants in their own growth process.

Amberly attended the University of North Georgia for her Bachelors Degree, where she majored in Psychology and minored in Sociology. She continued her education at the University of North Georgia where she received her Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Since graduation, she has worked in the private practice setting continuing to gain experience working with children and parents. Amberly believes that working with the entire family system creates the ideal environment for growth and healing. She is a Registered Play Therapist and utilizes Child Centered Play Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Play Therapy, and Attachment based modalities.

Amberly works with children and teens in the following specialty areas:

Anxiety – Perfectionism, Test & Performance Anxiety, Anger, Tics, Obsessive-Compulsive behaviors, Disordered Eating, Trichotillomania
ADHD – Impulsivity, Distractibility, Aggression, and Anxious Thoughts
Athletic Performance – Anxiety, Identity Development, Grief & Loss, Depression, Visualization Skills, Confidence
Autism Spectrum Disorder– Social Skills, Sensory Processing, Anxiety, Bullying, Self-Esteem
Grief – Trauma, Anger, Isolation, Depression, Defiance
Amberly also offers parenting support including concerns such as attachment, communication, parenting strategies, appropriate limit setting, and co-parenting.

Amberly’s heart is to use both her passion and training to help children and teens navigate through life’s many obstacles. Her biggest hope is that they become the best versions of themselves and truly know they are worthy of everything life has to offer them, despite what the world may tell them. When Amberly is not in the office, she enjoys spending time with her family and German Shepherd, watching sports, and staying active.

Amberly is a member of the Association for Play Therapy and also holds a certification in AutPlay.

Kelli is a Licensed Professional Counselor and has Master's of Arts in Professional Counseling from Richmont Graduate University. She has specialized training in the treatment of trauma, specifically in evidenced based practices such as EMDR, Brainspotting, and Progressive Counting method.

Her desire is to help others find freedom from the areas in life where they feel stuck. Specifically, her goal in counseling is to meet you where you are, help you identify your innate strengths, and learn how the things you have been through in the past have influenced you. She desires to create a safe space where you can move towards healing and restoration.

Kelli has worked in private practice, residential, and outpatient settings providing individual and group counseling.
Her experience has equipped her to work with individuals who struggle with past traumatic experiences, abuse, depression, anxiety, grief/loss, prenatal and postpartum issues, and other relational concerns. She utilizes individualized approaches to meet you exactly where you are in the healing process.

Cara is a Licensed Professional Counselor - Mental Health Service Provider and National Certified Counselor. Along with her licensing and training, she is certified in both the Grief Recovery Method ® and the SYMBIS Pre-Marital Assessment. Cara is a graduate of the University of Georgia. After completing her Bachelor’s degree, she completed her Master’s at Richmont Graduate University in Atlanta, GA.

Cara works regularly with individuals and couples experiencing a variety of struggles including anxiety, depression, grief, low self-worth, relational challenges, life transitions, trauma, affair recovery, emotional regulation and feelings of intense shame.

Cara believes the most important element in therapy is the relationship between the therapist and client. Because of this, she works hard to understand each individual as their unique self and create a safe and open space for growth and healing. While she works with a variety of therapeutic approaches, Cara finds most of her work centers around the Psychodynamic theory, recognizing that we all believe and inevitably behave the messages we narrate unconsciously. By understanding these beliefs and messages and how they originated, we can ultimately change and heal in all aspects of our lives.

I practice counseling from the humanistic perspective that every person is inclined to change and growth to make the best of surviving in life. I utilize person-centered counseling to promote empowerment, autonomy, and authenticity to promote self-acceptance and compassion. In the beginning of counseling, I focus on the therapeutic relationship to foster trust and make sure that you feel comfortable in the therapeutic space. Once an alliance is formed, I often utilize specific modalities that cater to your individual needs and experiences. I like to show up as myself to counseling with hopes that you will too.
In my practice of person-centered counseling, I aim to reintroduce you to your authentic self. As you become more connected to yourself, you become more connected to your inner sources of wisdom, validation, compassion, self-respect, and acceptance.
At Restore Counseling & Therapy, we place you at the center of your counseling experience. We encourage you to define the changes that you would like to see and experience. We just help you get there with the professional knowledge and tools we have acquired for you.

Dustin Ellis was born and raised in Marietta, Georgia. He moved to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue his bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Lipscomb University and his master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at Trevecca Nazarene University.

Prior to working with GROW, Dustin spent the last fourteen years using behavioral interventions like ABA with children and families on the autism spectrum. He has made the transition into the field of counseling because he has seen the unique needs that families with children on the spectrum face.

Dustin has specialized in providing resources and meeting the specific needs of the parents/families/siblings/caregivers who have children on the spectrum. His goal is to provide a holistic approach for supporting these families to thrive in the future.

Dustin has training in Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples to better serve this population. He is a member of the Georgia Association of Marriage and Family Therapy and American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy.

Clients describe Dustin as warm and authentic while offering hope that change is possible. His approach centers around using awareness, practicing compassion, and acceptance of deeper emotions to create connection and change.

Dustin embraces the words of Brene’ Brown, “We cannot selectively numb emotions, when we numb the painful emotions, we also numb the positive emotions.”

Supervisor: Dr. Wendy Dickinson

I have been supporting parents in every job or role I’ve had in adulthood whether I knew it at the time or not. My clinical work began working with teenagers in the inpatient setting. I noticed that there would be times where patients would become stable while in the hospital and then we would discharge them, only for them to return a short time later. I realized we needed to be working with the family as a whole. Then I began working with younger children, thinking if I intercepted my clients at a younger age, I could potentially prevent the struggles I saw on the inpatient unit. I slowly worked my way down in age, working in the infant and early childhood realm in mental health care. One day, I had a lightbulb moment. I noticed a trend in all of these settings: the most important and impactful work is done with parents. Most mental health difficulties in children (and even many adults!) can be traced back to early childhood. Those experiences either tend to help or hinder our roles as parents.