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Abundant Life Counseling St. Louis, LLC

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Richmond Heights, MO
Abundant Life Counseling St. Louis, LLC

Julie Williamson, LPC, NCC, RPT offers professional counseling for women in St. Louis, who are facing challenges related to anxiety and relationships.

This page is for support and is not therapy. Abundant Life Counseling St. Louis LLC is dedicated to helping individuals, couples, and families in the St. Louis area flourish in the midst of life’s perplexing struggles and challenges. Therapist Julie Williamson seeks to increase hope, embody empathy, and encourage authenticity by joining with you to collaboratively assist you in achieving your therapeutic goals. Louis LLC wants to help you gain clarity, understanding, and above all, flourishing in your relationships with God and others, despite life’s trials and tribulations.

11/04/2025

Halloween is over. Time to put away the pumpkins and put up the Christmas trees!

For many of us, the holiday season brings joy and memories of childhood delight, time with loved ones, and special holiday traditions. There are times in our lives, however, where these seasons seem cloaked with pain and sadness. We may feel confronted with our own unhappiness or discontent. And along with that, we may experience judgment (from ourselves or others) for not feeling particularly grateful when “we just have so much to be thankful for!”

I’m sharing an updated blog post today that I originally wrote a few years ago. Gratitude has been touted for its mental health benefits, and it got me wondering how it can benefit and be practiced during times of grief or hardship when we don’t feel we have much to be thankful for. I came across the work of Dr. Robert Emmons, who has done a large amount of research on gratitude. I’ve shared some of his work and my thoughts in the blog post here and at the link in my profile:
https://abundantlifecounselingstl.com/?p=1362
🌱

kn

10/28/2025

It’s *spooky* season, so this month, I’m sharing things that *spook* me as a Christian therapist for women with anxiety!

Is there such a thing as being “too emotional”? And is being “too emotional” a bad thing?

Read how emotions teach us here: https://abundantlifecounselingstl.com/?p=665 🌱

kn

10/21/2025

It’s *spooky* season, so this month, I’m sharing things that *spook* me as a Christian therapist for women with anxiety!

I’ve never been a big fan of the phrase “go with your gut.” Mostly because as someone who struggles with anxiety, I have never found this admonition comforting. If anything, it creates a whole new layer of anxiety for me: how do I know that what I think is my gut is actually my gut? What if I’m not hearing my gut correctly? What even is my gut?

Also, when I hear someone tell me this, I find myself asking if this person is well-meaning in that they believe that I am capable of making wise and informed decisions—or if they’re telling me this as a way of dismissing my quandary because they’re tired of hearing about it and/or they don’t know what else to say.

I do believe that God has given us all intuition. And there are times when I feel clear and sure about a direction I should go. But not every situation has a clear and direct answer. Not to mention, anxiety steps in and can cloud the picture.

I write about some questions to consider during times of uncertainty at the link in my profile or here: https://abundantlifecounselingstl.com/?p=1209
🌱

kn

10/14/2025

It’s *spooky* season, so this month, I’m sharing things that *spook* me as a Christian therapist for women with anxiety!

For a lot of us women who grew up in the church, we were prescribed a list of do’s and don’ts for interacting with men. Don’t act or dress immodestly, be gentle and submissive, save s*x for marriage… but we weren’t often taught what to look for in a partner beyond their religious faith. As a result, I’ve seen in my work (and experienced personally) how easy it is to think we’re in a healthy, promising relationship if our partner checks the minimum amount of boxes, and to explain away or ignore qualities that may prove problematic in marriage later. For more info on the framework I use to help single women consider their values in establishing healthy, long-term dating relationships, check out my blog here: https://abundantlifecounselingstl.com/?p=381
🌱

kn

10/07/2025

It’s *spooky* season, so this month, I’m sharing things that *spook* me as a Christian therapist for women with anxiety! The first thing this month that *spooks* me is the belief that feeling afraid or anxious MUST mean we’re not trusting Jesus.

Sometimes it feels like we’re taught in Christian circles to grit our teeth, ignore our fear, and “trust Jesus.” We’re not always given guidance as to what this practically looks like – my guess is this is because it’s impossible and there is no “off switch” for feeling a particular emotion. What if, instead of ignoring or judging our fear, we recognized it as a God-given tool for our protection? Not only that, but as an opportunity and an invitation to experience His kindness and care in the midst of our fear? For more, check out my blog post here: https://abundantlifecounselingstl.com/?p=1160
🌱

kn

09/30/2025

I fear that sometimes in Christian circles, “dying to self” can be implied to mean more than just fleeing from sin or loving others as we love ourselves. I worry that it can be used as a form of emotional avoidance. And then if we do allow ourselves to experience difficult emotions rather than “put them to death,” that must mean that we’re selfish.

I’ve seen how this belief can lead to a variety of problems, including lack of boundaries and destructive relationships. So what do Jesus and Paul mean when they talk about the concept of “dying to self” in the Bible? Check out the link in my bio or here for more:: https://abundantlifecounselingstl.com/?p=1352
🌱

kn

09/23/2025

Growing up in the church, I often heard the exhortation to “die to myself.” To those outside of the church, I imagine this sounds pretty weird. But for those of us who learned about our inherent sinful nature from a young age, it made sense – we are to flee from sin. We are to follow Christ’s example in every way, living sacrificially with servant’s hearts and loving others as we love ourselves. Worshipping only Him and no one or nothing else.

And I wholeheartedly believe all of what I just wrote to be true, to be clearly indicated from the Bible.

AND

I fear that sometimes in Christian circles, “dying to self” can be implied to mean more than just fleeing from sin or loving others as we love ourselves. I worry that it can be used as a form of emotional avoidance.

Today on the blog, I explore what “dying to self” really means, and if it involves “sucking it up” when it comes to our pain. Check it at the link in profile or here: https://abundantlifecounselingstl.com/?p=1352
🌱

kn

09/16/2025

Dr. Coyne goes on to explain how we can see worry as a behavior that we engage in rather than “something that happens to us, or something we are victims of, or ‘just who we are.’” I tend to think of anxious thoughts/worries as series of words that cause discomfort. I don’t mean to minimize the experience of anxiety—as an almost lifelong sufferer of it myself, I know how debilitating and miserable it can be. But when we view it as an enemy, as something we MUST AVOID AT ALL COSTS, we often end up spending more energy and sometimes adding difficulty to our lives that wouldn’t necessarily be there if we allowed the anxious feeling, noticed our thoughts as thoughts without fusing with them, and used our values as a guide to making decisions and responding to the anxiety. 🌱

kn

09/09/2025

I really love the idea depicted here of giving anxiety a “performance review.” Unfortunately, we can’t make anxiety completely go away. But we can certainly fire it as the CEO of our lives! Check out the link in my profile or below for more and check out the illustrator’s Instagram page!
https://abundantlifecounselingstl.com/?p=1348 🌱

kn

09/02/2025

Recently I was chatting with someone about a difficult situation she found herself in. She said that she wanted to know why this happened so she could avoid it from happening again. This is logical, right? It makes sense—and is even a noble enterprise—to consider how we contributed to a difficult situation, what we can learn from it, and what we can do differently next time.

The tricky part is, sometimes difficult things happen to us that are completely outside of our control. And even if my friend were able to identify mistakes she made or things she could’ve done differently, we will never know if that would change or prevent her current circumstances. The same situation may still have occurred.

Self-reflection is important and I don’t want to undermine that. But it can also be a way to avoid the unpleasant feelings that come with circumstances outside of our control. If you’re wondering why a situation has occurred so that you can learn from it and prevent it from happening in the future, perhaps consider if there is a deeper feeling this question is protecting you from. Can you sit with that feeling, show it some compassion? Afterall, it IS really hard to feel out of control. And then instead of trying to figure out why something happened, a helpful question to ask yourself can be, “what do I want to stand for THROUGH this tough experience?” That can give you some purpose and direction as you move through this tough situation. 🌱

kn

08/26/2025

Some of my favorite mental health accounts to follow:

: I’ve shared her content in the past and I particularly like her coping statement scripts. They can come in handy in stressful moments when it’s hard to access your own coping reminders!

: Therapist Carrie Howard, LCSW, provides insightful explanations as to the many functions and presentations of anxiety.

: helpful education regarding anxious thoughts, feelings, beliefs

: great for postpartum moms, but also for women in general when it comes to identifying feelings, sitting with difficult emotions, and regulating your nervous system

: she’s an author, but a licensed counselor as well. She speaks a lot to emotional challenges that come with living with a chronic illness.

What are some of your favorite mental health accounts to follow? 🌱

kn

08/19/2025

We all know that social media can be both a blessing and a curse. For me personally, there have been several times where a funny parenting reel or meme has come across my feed and not only made me laugh, but made me feel validated – I thought I was the only one experiencing this particular challenge, but there’s a whole series of videos about it! It can help me feel less alone, question myself and my experience less, and bring some lightness through humor to the situation.

When it comes to anxiety and OCD, there are some extremely helpful social media accounts that can offer validation and support, as well as helpful tools and responses to sticky thoughts. However, there is a lot of misinformation out there and creators can claim to be “experts” with little vetting and/or accountability. Here are some things I recommend considering before following and/or taking advice from a social media mental health account:

1) In their bio, do they have credentials listed? These might look like LPC, LCPC, LCSW, PhD, etc. If you’re not sure, look up the credential to see if it’s legit! If someone says they have “lived experience,” this means they’re an expert in their OWN mental health, not yours. This doesn’t mean they don’t have insight to offer, it just means they are not a trained professional and can only speak to their own experience, not every sufferer of their mental health diagnosis.

2)Going along with that, watch out for specific advice given to a broad audience. Again, it might be something worth considering for your own treatment, but bring it to any therapist, doctor, or professional you’re working with and discuss if it would be a good treatment option for you. One size does not necessarily fit all.

3) Be wary of any claims of a “cure” for anxiety and OCD. If someone had the antidote for a cure, they would be gazillionaires and not need Instagram to advertise (no offense, Instagram).

Next week, I’ll share some helpful mental health social media accounts I follow. If you have a favorite account, drop it in the comments below or send me a DM!

Address

1034 S. Brentwood Boulevard
Richmond Heights, MO
63117

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm

Website

http://abundantlifecounselingstl.com/

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Abundant Life Counseling St. Louis LLC is dedicated to helping women in the St. Louis area flourish in the midst of life’s perplexing struggles and challenges. Therapist Julie Williamson seeks to increase hope, embody empathy, and encourage authenticity by joining with you to collaboratively assist you in achieving your therapeutic goals. Abundant Life Counseling St. Louis LLC wants to help you gain clarity, understanding, and above all, flourishing in your relationships with God and others, despite life’s trials and tribulations. This page is intended for support and education, and is not therapy.