Madison Short Conteh - Joy in the Morning Counseling (She/Her)

I've been practicing as a Licensed Professional Counselor and Registered Play Therapist for nearly a decade now, and I love this work because it is so full of hope. Usually, when people come to see me, they're not feeling very hopeful, because the problem feels too big to handle. It's sucking the joy out of their relationships, or their life, and they're overwhelmed. Life has let them down, they've been disappointed, and now they're stuck in a spiral of the worst feelings. Some part of them though, knows there is hope out there, that things can be better and they can have relief. That's where therapy, and my role in your story, comes in. I get to hold the hope for you, because I know this path. I've been walking it with people just like you for years. I know that parts of this path are hard, or scary, or beautiful, or relaxing, and I know that all of it is heading towards you experiencing freedom. We walk it together so that you don't have to hold your own burdens, I have special skills that help us along the path like EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). This is a way we use the brain's natural ability to process information, and alleviate feeling stuck in a past experience or experiences. It's especially useful for trauma. I use Person Centered Talk Therapy. We create the space to sit together with what's on your mind or your heart, to give it what it needs, and move through it. I use Child Centered Play Therapy so that kids can have the same benefits of therapy as adults, but in a child-attuned way. Kids aren't ready to talk through things, they express them through behaviors. Play therapy gives kids the opportunity to play through those behaviors and find healing. With parents I offer Child Parent Relationship Therapy training, where I give you the same tools I use as a therapist, but to use within your own home. In all of this, I often integrate things like somatic work, parts work, and sandtray work.