Do you struggle to communicate or connect emotionally with your partner? Are you and your partner having trouble with your sexual relationship or had an affair? Do you feel like your anxiety, depression, sexual/porn addiction or trauma are getting in the way your life and relationships? I can you help you address your relational or mental health issues so you can feel more connected and emotionally steady.

Research shows that you need to have a good relationship with your therapist in order to succeed in counseling, so I work hard to create an environment calm, trusting environment. I pursue further education in specialties to better serve my clients, such as Sex Therapy, EMDR, Prepare/Enrich, and Gottman. I practice from a Christian worldview and I am able to incorporate that (or not) based on my client preferences. I love to listen to people's stories and help them identify healthy, achievable goals, then work with them to reach those goals.

We will work together to learn about your unique story and create a treatment plan that addresses your specific needs. I am currently offering both in-person and telehealth sessions for individuals and couples. Contact me to book a short phone call to find out if we are good fit and answer any questions.

At Wilde Counseling, we believe that stability often comes when we brave the wilderness within and around us. With an emphasis on nervous system support, we help our clients heal from traumatic events, past or present, and experience more connection in their lives. We work with clients to make sense of attachment wounds, build inner trust and self-compassion, and move past the relational patterns that have kept them stuck. It is a privilege to enter hard spaces with you and offer a safe place to land.

Salima received her Bachelors degree from Georgia State University in Early Childhood Education. While teaching, she recognized the importance of mental health for both the child and the family. She wanted to transition to a career where she would have the opportunity to focus on the mental health of others. She obtained her Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Mercer University. During her program, Salima spent time at Manna Treatment, where she gained experience working with eating disorders in the PHP and IOP programs. She also had the opportunity to work with children, teens, and adults for various issues such as divorce, depression, anxiety, addiction, and other mental health concerns.

In addition to her internship experience, Salima also worked for Kate’s Club, where she lead grief groups for school-aged children who recently lost a family member or loved one. Salima enjoys seeing her clients progress and meet their personal goals and works with them to help foster mentally and emotionally healthy lives.

Malissa Truesdale-Crawford MA, LCMHCA
Malissa is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate. She is licensed in both South Carolina and North Carolina.

Malissa is most passionate about people and her motto for clients is let’s work together to become your overall “best/better” SELF!! Malissa has worked tirelessly to help children of all ages and adults feel good about themselves no matter what the past, present may look like. We work together to make “you, the client” feel whole and worthy! Malissa’s previous work stems from children and adults thus the family unit (Couples) is an area that comes naturally for her.

As we process your life path, we will use my skills in Narrative Therapy (values/importance you tell yourself), Solution Focus (where you’re heading/future self), Motivational Interviewing (why do you do what you do) and CBT (ways to change what you do). Malissa is also trained in Couples Prepare/Enrich and Brain-spotting.

As a mental health professional with over 15 years of experience, I am honored to collaborate with others as a fellow traveler on their journey to their ideal lifestyle. We achieve this together by using evidence-based practices (e.g., CBT, ACT) to identify and deconstruct unhelpful thought patterns that keep you stuck in behaviors that may have been adaptive in the past but no longer serve your present. This might include seeking validation from people whose opinion you no longer care for, working towards goals you no longer desire, or striving for hyper-independence when you really want to try on vulnerability.

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.

Laura Baker MA, LPC, NCC, CPCS
Exhale Counseling
Exhale Counseling and Consulting Services
www.exhalecounselingsvcs.com
laura@exhalecounselingsvcs.com
770 892 6287
Co-Founder of Exhale Counseling (07.07.2020)
I am trained in EMDR