At Ease Counseling LLC

12/08/2023

Congratulations to Katie L. Stevens you are the winner of the Feeling At Ease Basket. Please message us so we can give you info about your prize. Thank you to everyone who participated. Happy Holiday's everyone.

12/06/2023

We know the holiday times can be stressful, that is way we have the Feeling At Ease Basket to help either with the holidays by giving the gift card to those you love or use it all yourself for some relaxation. At Ease is Joining the Downtown community for this holiday giveaway!!! The feeling At Ease Basket is a $205 value. All you need to do to win is "Like the post" and comment who you think could also use the basket. This give away ends Friday at 5pm. We will pick one winner at random from the likes and comments below. Downtown Brookings

11/06/2023

10/09/2023

Happy Hobo Week!!! Can we talk about how amazing our windows look? Come check them out (along with all the other amazing downtown Hobo Day window art)!!!

08/01/2023

Ashley Rausch LPC
My name is Ashley Rausch. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor with 9 years of experience in the mental health field. I have worked in the community of Brookings as well as South Dakota State University in my time as a counselor. While working in the community I have been able to work with a variety of clients; from adolescents, individuals, couples, parents, individuals on the spectrum, those dealing with addictions and more. My time at the University has allowed me to work with individuals adjusting from living at home to becoming independent, those with trauma, the LGBTQ+ community, and parent/child relationship concerns. I love the journey I have been able to experience, and have a passion for working with people.

My journey into counseling began at South Dakota State University when I took a few psychology courses. I wanted to understand more about me, my experiences, and how to grow as a person. What I found was a passion and hunger for more knowledge pertaining to mental health. My focus shifted from myself to helping others in difficult situations feel understood, heard, safe, and confident to take on the world. Through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Motivational Interviewing approaches, trauma informed interventions, and other evidenced-based approaches, I have worked with individuals who have experienced a wide range of traumatic events, including physical and sexual assault, childhood abuse and neglect, domestic violence, and combat trauma. I have experience in aiding individuals with anxiety, depression, bipolar, autism, substance use disorders, behavioral addictions, loss, separations/divorces, health concerns, individuals transitioning, and other human experiences.

I believe the counseling process should be a collaborative effort to help you reach your goals. Counseling should be a process where I work closely with you to create an individualized treatment plan that meets your specific needs and goals. My counseling style is warm, compassionate, humorous, and non-judgmental. My goal is to build a strong, therapeutic relationship based on trust, safety, and mutual respect.

07/26/2023

Jordan Bogenrief LPC - Supervisee
My name is Jordan Bogenrief, a combat veteran and Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisee with 5 years of experience in the mental health field. I understand firsthand the unique challenges that veterans face, particularly those who have experienced combat trauma. My passion for helping individuals heal from trauma stems from my own experiences, and I am committed to providing compassionate and effective trauma therapy to those in need.

My journey into counseling began after I returned from serving in the Marine Corps Infantry with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. I struggled with the transition to civilian life and found solace in talking with a therapist. This experience inspired me to pursue a career in counseling, with the goal of helping others who may be struggling with similar issues. If you are struggling with the effects of trauma, I am here to help you on your journey. With a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) approach and evidenced-based, trauma informed interventions I have worked with individuals who have experienced a wide range of traumatic events, including physical and sexual assault, childhood abuse and neglect, domestic violence, and combat trauma.

I believe that you are the expert in your own life and the counseling process should be collaborative where I will work closely with you to create an individualized treatment plan that meets your specific needs and goals. My counseling style is warm, compassionate, and non-judgmental to build a strong therapeutic relationship based on trust and mutual respect. Healing from trauma is a unique and individual process where I emphasize the importance of creating a safe and non-judgmental space for clients to share vulnerable emotional experiences and identify obstacles to success.

07/21/2023

Megan Florestano LPC
My name is Megan Florestano and I am a Licensed Professional Counselor with 4 years of experience in the mental health field. I have also worked in Christian ministry and with college students since entering the workforce. I enjoy working with people with anxiety, panic attacks, OCD, grief, anger, poor boundaries, sexual assault and domestic violence recovery, abuse, PTSD, and issues of faith, religion, and identity.

I grew up moving all over the country and have lived in South Dakota for about 8 years. I am married and have two young children. I enjoy dancing, arts and crafts, camping, going for walks, and classical high fantasy fiction.

I always knew I wanted to go into a helping profession. I realized I wanted to be a counselor while working with college students and I would es**rt them to the counseling center on campus for various mental health concerns. I decided I wanted to be the person on the other end of that walk instead of the one pointing them in that direction. I worked with survivors of sexual and domestic violence at the Compass Center in Sioux Falls, SD during my counseling internship and I worked with college students again at the SDSU Student Health Clinic and Counseling Center.

My approach to counseling involves building a warm, supportive, non-judgmental and collaborative relationship where you feel heard and understood. I want to help you feel empowered to manage and reduce your distress through an individualized treatment plan focusing on your whole self, not just behaviors. I often incorporate humor and metaphor into my sessions. I focus on self-regulation, mind-body connection, coping skills, and trauma informed care along with other appropriate evidence based interventions to work with you to achieve your goals. When appropriate, I also utilize solution-focused therapy, brief therapy, Gestalt interventions, Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). I believe you are the expert in your life experiences and as your counselor I get to come alongside you for a time to assist you on your mental health journey.

07/10/2023

Jessica McLaughlin LPC-MH
My name is Jess McLaughlin, Licensed Professional Counselor with 13 years of experience in the mental health field. I grew up in a variety of towns in South Dakota and my family has a history of work in both education and farming. I served in the South Dakota Army National Guard as a medic for 9 years, with one deployment during Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom. I am married with 2 young children, 2 dogs, and a cat. I enjoy hunting, fishing, camping, cooking, travel, and board games. My experiences in my younger years have sculpted a love for hearing a person’s story, finding the resiliency, and the healing that can happen in a healthy environment. I knew at a young age I desired a career helping others and being a counselor has continued to be my passion.

My experience during my deployment at 19 years old gave me a strong desire to find a way to help those with wounds that you cannot see. My first hours of work experience after graduating from The University of South Dakota’s Master’s program in community mental health was conducting neuropsychological testing under the supervision of the psychologist. I then found a full-time job working primarily in addiction treatments running intensive outpatient treatment and aftercare programming for both adults and adolescents. I then work in a community mental health clinic with a range of clientele to include those with severe and persistent mental illness and I also started work in supervising young professionals. When we moved to be closer to family I worked for the college campus student health clinic as a counselor, supervisor and then as the Assistant Director of Counseling Services. Mixed into the past few years I worked with the graduate program on campus as an instructor for their counseling program. At this time in my career, I am excited and proud of being part of a team of people dedicated to providing quality services to our community.

As a counselor I am passionate about identifying what you need from our work together. I understand how hard and uncomfortable reaching out for mental health services is. I provide room to develop an understanding of how the work in counseling is both biologically and emotionally influenced. I have experience in working with trauma, addiction, disordered eating, anxiety, depression, Bipolar Disorder, PTSD, grief/loss, relational concerns, athletes, head trauma, seizures, and health concerns. The techniques and theory I am prone to using elements of person centered, CBT, Solution Focused, Motivational Interviewing, trauma informed therapy and other evidence based practices.

07/10/2023