Lisa Cardwell

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Certified Positive Discipline Parent Educator, and a Certified AutPlay® Therapist with a creative, collaborative approach to therapy. I enjoy working with clients of all ages and find working with children and parents especially rewarding.

As a Certified AutPlay® Therapist, I have specialized training in a play and behavioral therapy approach that helps children who struggle specifically with attention problems, hyperactivity, emotional dysregulation, Autism-Spectrum Disorders and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Because working with parents is a passion of mine, I offer parenting support and education with the Positive Discipline curriculum, teaching parents new parenting tools to tackle their parenting challenges and enrich their relationships with their children.

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Leslie Cashion

I am a Marriage and Family Therapy Associate and a graduate of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, as well as a Certified Positive Discipline Parent Educator. I have a collaborative, client-centered therapeutic approach, utilizing authentic connection to help clients focus on their goals, define what they need, and establish treatment plans to meet their goals on a short timeline. With experience in using Play Therapy, sand play, and expressive arts to facilitate insightful change, my approach is both creative and fun. As a second career MFT Associate, I bring life-experience into the therapeutic process. I enjoy working with multicultural clients of all ages & faith backgrounds.

Whether developing the ability to cope with anxiety and/or depression, transitioning through life changes like divorce, managing the effects of a traumatic incident, managing difficult childhood behavioral concerns, repairing a broken relationship, or creating better parenting methods, my focus is in assisting you in meeting the goals you bring to therapy. My practice is trauma-informed and research-based, which is beneficial to many clients.

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Rachel Chandler

I am a Licensed Professional Art Therapist Associate and Certified Positive Discipline Parent Educator who is passionate about working with children, adolescents, and families as they grow to their full potential. Mainly using a humanistic and person-centered approach to therapy, I seek to help others recognize their strengths and find their voice in a safe and nonjudgmental environment. I use a variety of expressive techniques depending on client needs including art, play, music, movement, and writing.

Growing up in Appalachia, I have been surrounded by artisans and rich story-telling for the majority of my life. I have continued to carry this spirit of creativity with me throughout my education and into my career. After graduating from Eastern Kentucky University in 2014, I went on to obtain my Masters of Education in Counseling and Personnel Services with a concentration in Art Therapy from the University of Louisville. I am now seeking licensure as a Professional Art Therapist under the clinical supervision of Emily Johnson Welsh, LPAT, LPCC, ATR-BC. Knowing how creativity has transformed my own life, I have always been passionate about helping others discover this power for themselves.

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Nora Gardner

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Kentucky and Indiana with nearly a decade of experience working with clients of all ages. My approach is strengths-based and client-centered, and I bring warmth and acceptance into the therapy relationship. I see therapy as a partnership where through a safe, non-judgmental connection, you can tune into your authentic self and find deeper meaning in your life. I enjoy working with children, teens, and adults.

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Mandy Huff

I am a Marriage and Family Therapist Associate who works with couples, individuals (17+), and families. My approach is holistic, experiential, and intersectionally-oriented. I primarily use Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and frequently use creative, experiential, mindfulness-based, and somatic interventions tailored individually to each client. I encourage client feedback and collaborative treatment planning to promote choice and transparency and to evaluate the effectiveness of the therapeutic process. Humor often makes its way into the therapy room because I believe in authenticity and I understand that sometimes therapy is heavy; my experience is that humor can bring insight and relief in the midst of heaviness.

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Megan McCarty

I am a Marriage and Family Therapist Associate and Certified AutPlay® Therapist who is working toward Play Therapy certification. I am also a Certified Positive Discipline Parent Educator. My approach is open-minded, caring, creative, and dedicated to helping you achieve your family’s goals. I most enjoy working with families including young children and adolescents, helping both children and parents to increase their toolkits for the challenges they face, as well as those wishing to incorporate their personal spirituality into their counseling experience.

With a background in art, I enjoy incorporating creativity in the therapy room.  By having a collaborative approach with clients, and with the use of play therapy and other creative techniques, I am able to help clients meet their goals in age appropriate, “fun” ways.

As a Certified AutPlay® Therapist, I have specialized training in a play and behavioral therapy approach that helps children who struggle specifically with attention problems, hyperactivity, emotional dysregulation, Autism-Spectrum Disorders and other neurodevelopmental disorders.  My other specialties include childhood and teenage anxiety, depression, behavioral issues, panic, parenting/co-parenting concerns, and grief, as well as Spiritual Concerns.

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Bridget Morgan

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Certified Positive Discipline Parent Educator. I specialize in child, adolescent, and family counseling. I also work individually with women. After graduating from Georgetown College in 2004 with a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology, I obtained a Masters degree in Social Work and Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Louisville in 2007.

I am trained in Lynn Lott and Jane Nelsen’s Positive Discipline approach to parenting and enjoy working with parents to create non-punitive solutions for difficult behaviors. I believe that parenting is the toughest job in the world and it is important that we approach training our kids with love, mutual respect, and patience.  My work is both client-focused and solution-focused.

It is my desire to help families find realistic and workable solutions to problems in an effort to minimize time spent in therapy. It is a privilege to work alongside each family and to help them achieve their goals.

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Kelly Parker

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Certified Positive Discipline Parent Educator. I enjoy working with children, teens, adult women, and families. After graduating from the University of Kentucky in 2002 with a Bachelor’s in Family Studies, I received my Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 2005.

With over 15 years of experience, I have worked in a variety of settings, including a residential treatment facility, foster care agency, private practice, school-based services, and a mental health practitioner in a public school.

I am loving and passionate about giving children an opportunity for their voices to be heard. I find excitement in helping families evoke positive change in their lives. It is a privilege to sit daily with adolescents and listen to their hearts. I desire to help you achieve your family goals. I like our time together to feel supportive, genuine, and non-judgmental.

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Dawn Pendleton

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and EMDR-Certified Therapist. With over 20 years experience in the mental health field, I have acquired knowledge across the spectrum of client needs. This experience has included work in psychiatric hospital settings, outpatient community mental health, school-based counseling, and in private practice.

As an EMDR-Certified Therapist, I have specialized expertise in offering EMDR as a modality to treat issues such as PTSD and other reactions to traumatic events, depression, anxiety, attachment issues, and panic. EMDR is an evidenced based therapeutic tool I find very helpful for my clients.

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Lacey Ryan

As the Founding Director of Creative Family Counseling, and with over a decade of experience in mental health, I bring a collaborative and creative approach toward working with families.  I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor, and a Certified Positive Discipline Parent Educator.  One thing consistent about my practice as a clinician over the years is the use of creativity. Creativity can be as simple as thinking outside of the box and go as far as utilizing one of the many expressive therapies available at Creative Family Counseling.

I enjoy working with children (ages 2+), teens, and adult women, and my specialties include anxiety, panic, depression, childhood behavioral issues, parenting concerns, divorce/blended family issues, and grief.  I also specialize in treating PTSD and other trauma, abuse, and neglect related issues.

Another thing I am especially passionate about is helping families grow and develop healthier ways of interacting with one another.  Oftentimes this comes in the form of Parent Support and use of Positive Parenting Techniques, as I help parents find healthier ways to connect with their children while finding a balance of nurture and discipline.

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Rebecca Street

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who is affirming, collaborative and excited to work with you and your family.

I enjoy working with families of all ages, but I especially enjoy working with teens as they go through such an important phase of life. I am trained in Attachment-Based Family Therapy (ABFT), which is proven to be effective in treating Depression in Teens.

As a Certified Positive Discipline Parent Educator, I also enjoy helping parents increase the tools in their parenting toolkits with techniques that bring more favorable outcomes in their homes.

I treat a variety of issues, like low self-esteem, anxiety, PTSD, depression, grief and loss, family changes, strained relationships, and ADHD, as well as helping children process and cope with challenging family transitions. As an affirming Therapist, I have experience working with LGBTQIA+ individuals.

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Andy Thomas

My therapeutic approach is creative, client-centered, and goal-oriented maintaining that the client is the expert of their own experience, focusing on what the client wants to work on. My approach is based on the knowledge that our experienced symptoms are inexplicably connected to our body and brain. I use strategies that involve movement and are sometimes educational.  As a Certified Positive Discipline Parent Educator, I enjoy working with families that experience chaos and strive to help them find peace in their homes.

I have had the joy and privilege of working with clients from various ethnic backgrounds, gender identities, sexualities, and faith affiliations. I am passionate about working with children, adolescents, families, adults, as well as single-parent families or families where a Guardian or Caretaker is the primary caregiver.

I like to work with people on improving their relationships, managing life transitions and personal improvements, and increasing emotional self-awareness, as well as working with those experiencing divorced/blended family issues, school-related problems, grief, suicidal ideation/self-harm, anxiety, and depression.

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Deborah Zimlich

I am a Licensed Professional Art Therapy Associate who loves using art and play therapy interventions as a safe and fun way to connect with children and adolescents. Tending towards a cognitive behavioral therapy approach, I use goal-oriented and solution-focused techniques. I have worked in various settings, such as School-based and Residential programs. I highly value working with children from a holistic point of view, aiding to envision the entire image of a child. This includes working with parents and caregivers as a Certified Positive Discipline Parent Educator to equip them with tools to support their children.  As the family grows, so does the child.

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Lola the Therapy Dog

Lola is a big, sweet, lazy Great Dane. She spends most of her time sleeping, either on the couch at home or on a couch at Creative Family Counseling.  As Lola grew from a puppy to a young adult, Lacey was excited to see that Lola demonstrated the sweet, gentle, and understanding temperament needed for her to become a Therapy Dog. When she was old enough to start classes to be trained to provide Animal-Assisted Therapy, she did. Lacey and Lola were first certified while living in Nashville, TN.  They’ve been certified through a few different groups over the years, but most recently, Lola and Lacey are certified as an animal-assisted therapy team through Pawsibilities Unleashed.

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Archer the Therapy Dog

Archer is a sweet, snuggly Doberman Pinscher. While she enjoys curling up on the couch at work, she spends her free time playing at home with her mother and siblings, or going on adventures in the woods with her family and handler, Rebecca. Bred by her human “dad” for her gentle temperament, Archer was recently certified for provide Animal Assisted Therapy by Pawsibilities Unleashed.

Archer seems to have always had an affinity for sensing people’s anxieties and providing them comfort. She now offers this at Creative Family Counseling as a Therapy Dog.

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