Step By Step Counseling, LLC

Step By Step Counseling, LLC We offer mental health counseling for children adolescents and adults. Our services range from individual, group, family and IOP.

Location 1: 2081 Collier Corporate Parkway St. Charles MO 63303
Location 2: 9378 Olive Blvd Ste 209, Olivette, MO 63132

Step By Step Counseling, LLC is a collaborative mental health practice that offers a variety of mental health professionals. We work with adults, couples, children, adolescents and families to provide a full spectrum of care. We provide individual, group, and family counseling for children and adults to help cope with life's challenges. We also are one of the only providers in the state that offer Safe and Sound Protocol.

12/24/2025

We wish you rest and restoration this week! Happy holidays!

Family conflict during the holidays is more common than most people admit.This season brings changed routines, higher ex...
12/24/2025

Family conflict during the holidays is more common than most people admit.

This season brings changed routines, higher expectations, old family roles, and nervous systems already running on stress. When regulation drops, reactivity rises. That is not a personal failure. It is biology and history colliding.

If this resonates, take a moment to scroll through the carousel. Each slide breaks down practical, realistic ways to reduce tension and protect emotional safety during holiday gatherings.

A few reminders to hold onto:

• You do not have to fix long standing family patterns in one gathering
• Boundaries work best when they are short, calm, and repeated
• Taking breaks or leaving early is a regulation choice, not avoidance
• Kids feel safer when adults manage their own emotions first

You are allowed to choose steadiness over tradition and regulation over obligation.

The full blog post goes deeper into why this happens and what actually helps from a nervous system and family systems perspective. It is linked and worth the read if holidays tend to feel heavy, complicated, or exhausting.

Blog post: https://stepbystepcounselingllc.com/family-conflict-at-the-holidays-boundaries-regulation-and-realistic-expectations/

The holidays can be hard when grief is part of your story.Grief does not only come from death.* It can show up when a fo...
12/24/2025

The holidays can be hard when grief is part of your story.

Grief does not only come from death.
* It can show up when a foster child misses their biological family.
* When relationships are strained or disconnected.
* When traditions change.
* When someone who once filled the room is no longer there.

This season asks a lot of our nervous systems. If things feel heavier, quieter, or more emotional than expected, that makes sense.

You are allowed to:
* Feel joy and grief at the same time
* Do less this year
* Step back from traditions that no longer fit
* Acknowledge loss without explaining it

Grief does not run on a holiday schedule. It shows up because connection mattered.

Swipe through for gentle reminders for navigating grief around the holidays.
Our latest blog shares more about why this season can feel harder and how to support yourself and your family with care.

You are not behind. You are responding to loss.

Blog post: https://stepbystepcounselingllc.com/grief-during-the-holidays-understanding-what-makes-this-season-hard/

Some feelings don’t come with words. They come with tight chests, food rules, numbness, grief waves, or a sense that so...
12/20/2025

Some feelings don’t come with words. They come with tight chests, food rules, numbness, grief waves, or a sense that something is stuck.

That’s where art therapy can help.

Did you know we have an in-house art therapist? Jennifer works with adolescents and adults who feel overwhelmed, shut down, or exhausted by trying to explain everything. Jennifer’s work is especially supportive for
• Teens and adults navigating disordered eating or eating disorder recovery, where control, shame, or body signals feel complicated
• Individuals moving through grief and loss, whether the loss is recent, layered, or something you never fully got to process
• People who know they need support but feel talked out, emotionally flooded, or disconnected from words

Art therapy is not about being creative or artistic. It’s about giving your nervous system another way to process what feels too heavy, confusing, or tangled to say out loud.

Right now, Jennifer is accepting: Straight Medicaid, Home State Health, Aetna and Sliding scale options. She currently has availability, and these openings are ideal for:
• Teens who say “I don’t know” or “I’m fine” but clearly carry big emotions in their body and behavior
• Adolescents who struggle with food, body image, control, or shame and feel overwhelmed by direct questions
• Adults who intellectualize their feelings but feel disconnected from their body or emotions
• People grieving a death, relationship loss, identity shift, or life change they were expected to “be over by now”
• Clients who feel flooded, frozen, or shut down when asked to talk about hard experiences
• Individuals who have tried talk therapy before and felt stuck, pressured, or misunderstood
• Neurodivergent teens or adults who think visually or process best through doing rather than explaining
• Teens who express emotions through irritability, withdrawal, or perfectionism rather than tears

If this sounds like you, or someone you love, now is a good time to reach out.
Support doesn’t have to start with the right words. It can start with a blank page and a steady guide.

https://stepbystepcounselingllc.com/contact-us/request-an-appointment

Have you met Kate yet?If you’ve spent any time around Step By Step Counseling, you’ve likely felt Kate’s impact. She ser...
12/19/2025

Have you met Kate yet?
If you’ve spent any time around Step By Step Counseling, you’ve likely felt Kate’s impact. She serves on our leadership team as the Director of Education and Training, supporting interns, mentoring clinicians, and helping our team grow through supervision, coworking, and ongoing learning. Kate is deeply committed to doing good work, supporting clinicians well, and building strong, thoughtful systems of care.

Meet Kate…
…a Licensed Professional Counselor who works with older adolescents (17+) and adults. Kate brings warmth, steadiness, and curiosity into the therapy room, creating a space where clients feel welcome to explore who they are and what they need without judgment. She believes that “family” can take many forms and intentionally creates an inclusive, affirming environment for individuals and couples.

Kate has extensive experience working with relationship distress, addiction, trauma, and identity exploration. Her background includes five years in a rehab facility, which gives her strong insight when supporting clients navigating substance use or loving someone who struggles with addiction. She has a personal passion for supporting individuals and families facing reproductive and parenting-related challenges.

Kate commonly supports clients around:
• Relationship, marriage, and family concerns
• Infertility and reproductive trauma
• Maternal mental health and parenting stress
• Addiction and recovery
• Trauma
• Anxiety and depression

She is trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy and EMDR and brings a structured yet compassionate approach to couples work. Couples often appreciate that her sessions feel balanced, supportive, and focused on strengthening connection rather than taking sides.

If you’re looking for a therapist who is warm, thoughtful, collaborative, and deeply invested in both client care and clinician growth, Kate is invaluable.

Have you met Eileen yet?If you’ve been around Step By Step Counseling for a while, you’ve likely felt Eileen’s impact in...
12/19/2025

Have you met Eileen yet?
If you’ve been around Step By Step Counseling for a while, you’ve likely felt Eileen’s impact in more ways than one. Not only is she a trusted therapist on our team, she also serves in leadership as our Director of Onboarding and Transitions, helping new clinicians feel supported, grounded, and set up for success from day one.

Meet Eileen…
…a Licensed Professional Counselor who works with adolescents and adults and brings warmth, steadiness, and deep compassion into every space she enters. Eileen completed her internship with us in 2016, returned to the team in 2019, and has continued to grow into both a clinical and leadership role within our practice.

She has experience working in social services with individuals with developmental delays, in intensive outpatient settings with chronically mentally ill clients, and now supports a wide range of adolescents and adults navigating trauma, transitions, and complex life stressors. Eileen is trained in multiple trauma-focused modalities, including TF-CBT, CPT, DBT, allowing her to thoughtfully support clients working through trauma, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and emotion regulation challenges.

Eileen often works with clients around:
• Trauma and grief
• Self-harm and suicidal behaviors
• Anxiety and depression
• Borderline Personality Disorder
• Adolescent substance use
• Pregnancy and post-pregnancy concerns
• Attachment challenges
• Life transitions and identity shifts
• Foster families with older youth
• Veterans and justice-involved individuals

Clients describe Eileen as nonjudgmental, caring, and deeply present. She often reminds people that they are not broken or something to be “fixed.” Instead, she sees the whole person and helps them make sense of their experiences with dignity and respect. Clients report feeling heard, valued, and genuinely important in her care.

If you’re looking for a therapist who is compassionate, skilled, grounded, and truly invested in your story, and a leader who helps shape the heart of our practice, Eileen is someone special.

12/18/2025

Are your expectations on the naughty or nice list??

If you are coming to the Helping Hands For the Holidays event at the Saint Charles Convention Center, please stop by and...
12/17/2025

If you are coming to the Helping Hands For the Holidays event at the Saint Charles Convention Center, please stop by and say hi!

https://helpinghandsstcharles.com/

Have you met Brook yet?If you’ve been part of Step By Step Counseling for any amount of time, you’ve felt Brook’s influe...
12/17/2025

Have you met Brook yet?
If you’ve been part of Step By Step Counseling for any amount of time, you’ve felt Brook’s influence. She has been with us for 10+ years, and she is truly a cornerstone of our practice. Brook is a wealth of knowledge not only for her clients, but also for our clinicians and the wider community. When people need wisdom, perspective, or a steady guide, Brook is often the one they turn to.

Meet Brook…
…a Child, Adolescent, and Family Therapist who joined Step By Step Counseling in 2014. With years of experience working with children, Brook’s first career was in early childhood and elementary education. That foundation deeply shapes her work as a play therapist and family clinician. She understands child development, attachment, and behavior from the inside out.

Brook believes that one of the most meaningful gifts we can offer children is our willingness to grow alongside them. She works collaboratively with preschool and elementary-aged children and their families, often beginning relationships early and reconnecting with families again as children grow and new needs emerge.

Brook is especially known for her work with:
• Attachment and relational healing
• Foster care and adoption
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Trauma and dissociation
• ADHD
• Behavioral and emotional regulation concerns

She values honest, open communication and thrives in a team-based approach with caregivers. Brook does her best work with families who are curious, willing to learn, and open to trying new strategies together.

Have you met Laura yet?She’s one of those therapists who brings both depth and steadiness into the room. Laura is traine...
12/16/2025

Have you met Laura yet?
She’s one of those therapists who brings both depth and steadiness into the room. Laura is trained in DBT, EMDR, and DDP, which equips her to thoughtfully support clients with more complex emotional and relational needs, while still keeping therapy grounded, practical, and human.

Meet Laura…
…a Licensed Professional Counselor who works with adolescents (10+), adults, neurodivergent individuals, and parents of children with special needs. Laura completed her internship with Step By Step Counseling in 2022 and chose to stay on after graduation because it felt like the right fit, for her and for the clients she serves.

Before becoming a therapist, Laura spent years teaching middle school and raising three children of her own. That lived experience deeply shapes her work. She understands how emotions show up in real life, at home, at school, and in relationships, and she brings that understanding into every session.

Laura is especially skilled at helping clients:
• Navigate anxiety, depression, and OCD
• Understand ADHD and neurodivergent experiences
• Address self-harm and eating concerns
• Work through attachment and parenting challenges
• Improve emotional regulation and coping skills
• Strengthen communication and relationships

She helps clients identify triggers and patterns, reframe “problem behaviors” as coping strategies rather than personal failures, and build insight into both their strengths and areas of growth. Her approach is collaborative and strengths-based, with just the right amount of challenge to support meaningful change.

Laura often shares that her goal is to help people whose emotional distress interferes with daily life build self-awareness, confidence, and regulation skills so they can create lives that feel more fulfilling and manageable.

If you’re looking for a therapist who is compassionate, skilled with complex cases, and genuinely invested in helping you grow, Laura may be a wonderful fit.

https://stepbystepcounselingllc.com/contact-us/request-an-appointment/

Have you met Monique yet?She’s a steady, creative presence for middle school and high school clients who need a space wh...
12/15/2025

Have you met Monique yet?
She’s a steady, creative presence for middle school and high school clients who need a space where they can open up without pressure. Monique has a natural way of connecting with tweens and teens, especially those navigating big emotions, stress, and relationship challenges.

Meet Monique…
…a Licensed Professional Counselor with over 10 years of experience supporting at-risk youth and families. Monique has completed university-based play therapy training and is currently working through her play therapy certification supervision hours. She blends structure with creativity, meeting young people where they are developmentally and emotionally.

Monique works primarily with youth ages Middle School & High School and is especially skilled at helping clients who struggle to put their feelings into words. Her sessions often include games, art, or story-based activities alongside CBT and mindfulness strategies. This allows teens to express themselves in ways that feel natural and safe, while still building real-life coping skills.

Monique commonly supports youth with:
• Anger management and emotional regulation
• Anxiety and stress
• Trauma and difficult life experiences
• Communication skills
• Healthy relationships with peers and family

She also works with parents and caregivers when helpful, supporting better communication, consistency, and carryover of skills into daily life.

If you’re looking for a therapist who blends creativity, structure, and genuine connection for your tween or teen, Monique may be a great fit.

https://stepbystepcounselingllc.com/contact-us/request-an-appointment/

Most people know us for our social navigation groups for elementary, middle schoolers, and high school teens. But here...
12/15/2025

Most people know us for our social navigation groups for elementary, middle schoolers, and high school teens. But here’s what many don’t realize We offer this group for adults, too.

As adults, social challenges don’t magically disappear. They just look different.

Friendships feel harder to maintain.

Work conversations feel stressful.

Boundaries feel uncomfortable.

Conflict gets avoided or escalates.

Anxiety shows up before, during, or after social interactions.

Our Adult Social Navigation Group is designed to support adults who want to strengthen communication, boundaries, confidence, and connection in real-life relationships, not in theory.

Connection is a skill.

And skills can be learned.

✨ New adult group launching in January ✨
We’re currently gauging interest and registering new clients for our next group.

Who: Adults 18+
What: Group Support
Where: Saint Charles location
When: Monday evenings
Cost: $50/session

If this resonates or feels relevant to you please reach out to register
Phone (636-736-0778) or
E-mail (office@StepByStepCounselingLLC.com)

Please share this post with your network. Someone you know may be quietly wishing support like this existed. Support grows through connection. Sharing this post may help someone find the right next step.

Address

2081 Collier Corporate Pkwy
St. Charles, MO
63303

Telephone

+16367360778

Website

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Our Story

The office of Step By Step Counseling was founded in 2009 by Jennie Wilson and over the years has slowly expanded. As the need for mental health services in the community continued to grow, the office moved and expanded into the current location in 2013. Our current space allows us to accommodate more therapists and offer more services. Jennie envisioned that the therapists would operate not just as a and multidisiplinary team but as an indiciplinary team. She wanted this model when delivering services to clients because interdisiplinary teams build on each other’s expertise and allow for consultation. There’s an opportunity for more than one clinician to work with a family when needed (one client might be utilizing different services with different clinicians).

Step by Step Counseling’s vision was (and still is) to create a counseling resource that serves the community by offering different specialties and services to a wide range of clientele. As you will notice, therapists or clinicians employed with Step By Step Counseling have their own specialties and populations that they serve. Our mission is to connect a client with a clinician in our community that will be a good fit for what they are struggling with. Many times we are able to provide mulitiple services within one family.

We hope that every client has a positive experience within the practice. How can we serve you?