Valerie Burns Cathers is a licensed professional counselor, clinical substance abuse counselor, and approved clinical supervisor with a doctorate in Counselor Education. Valerie Burns is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and Clinical Substance Abuse Counselor (CSAC), licensed by the State of Wisconsin and the National Board for Certified Counselors (NCC). She graduated from Northern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology in 2011, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison with her Master of Science in Counseling Psychology (MS) in 2014. Many people ask me, “Why would I want to feel my feelings?”
Whether you are filling every space on your calendar to avoid being alone with your thoughts or constantly staring at a screen….putting on a new mask for every person you encounter or using alcohol as “social lubricant” or to quiet the noise….many of us have mastered the art of avoidance. Some of us neatly tuck our feelings away, trading our emotions for a nicely organized life with lots of explanations and justifications, while others just shove the mess of feelings under the rug, denying that they are even there. Others fear that once the floodgates open, they won’t be able to contain themselves, leaving one vulnerable, raw. The emotions we are most likely to try to avoid or fear actually contain the greatest and most important gifts. Feelings are sensory, physiological, and are your body’s response to the world. Each one of our emotions offers us a distinctive gift; especially the difficult ones, like anger, fear, pain, and shame. As your counselor, it is my job to help you safely move into these emotions, and help break cycles of unhelpful coping so you can experience healing and peace. If you are struggling to cope with your emotions or find yourself unhappy in life or in relationships, reach out today and learn how your gifts of emotion can be your ultimate catalysts for change. Burns, MS, LPC, CSAC, NCC, DARTT, SEP-IT
Licensed Professional Counselor & Clinical Substance Abuse Counselor
Nationally Board Certified Counselor, Certified Developmental & Relational Trauma Therapist, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner In-Training
Doctoral Student, EdD in Counselor Education & Supervision, Viterbo University
Master of Science in Counseling Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2014
I offer therapy services for adults (ages 18+) in individual sessions only at this time. SPECIALTIES
TRAUMA & CODEPENDENCY
I am a Certified Developmental and Relational Trauma (DART) Therapist; this means that I have completed extensive training in childhood and relational trauma. Utilizing Post Induction Therapy, which was created by Pia Mellody (author, Facing Codependence), individuals learn how areas of unmanageability in their lives have manifested, and how to shift back into their Functional Adult selves. I am also certified in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), which is a therapy that uses eye movements to help individuals heal from the symptoms of emotional distress caused by disturbing life experiences. I am currently training for certification in the Somatic Experiencing (SE) model. SE is aimed at relieving the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental and physical trauma-related health problems by focusing on the client’s perceived body sensations (or somatic experiences). OTHER AREAS I TREAT…
Adult Children and Family Members of Alcoholics/Addicts
Relationship Issues
Family Conflict
Life Transitions
Career Counseling
ADDITIONAL SERVICES…
Emotional Support Animal Letters
Animal Assisted Therapy
Discreet Services for Professionals
Outdoor or Walk-and-Talk Therapy
