“Very little grows on jagged rock. Be ground.
Be crumbled, so wildflowers will come up where you are.”
-Rumi
Why Counseling?
Counseling helps you to live a healthier and more vibrant life. In a supportive and private space, you are encouraged to speak truthfully and unravel the blocks that prevent you or your relationship from full aliveness. When we close off our emotions, we protect ourselves from hurt. Yet, it is through feeling our feelings and allowing ourselves to be vulnerable with someone we trust that we can access inner wisdom and grow. Closing off pain also inhibits joy. As a therapist I can be a trusted ally. Using my professional experience and skills, I can assist you in figuring out the path forward to creating change and feeling more alive.
About Me
I enjoy parterning with clients in the exploration of their true selves. I work to help you find what's in the way of what you want in life. I offer a compassionate and patient approach to your struggles and pain. My background in trauma work and mindfulness guide me to pay attention to emotions and the body.
Many experts agree that the blueprint for healing is within you. Together we engage in the unfolding of your process of internal growth and development.
My professional credentials and experiences are summarized as follows:
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Licensed Clinical Counselor -Supervisor in the States of NC and NY
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Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist in NC
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Over 30 years of experience
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Somatic Experiencing Practitioner
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Certified Hypnotherapist
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Experienced in EFT and Imago Couples Counseling
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Grief and Loss Counseling
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Art therapy, Artists' Way
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Ordained Interfaith Minister
I work with adults and young adults and am a passionate supporter of artists and of the healing power of imagination and creativity.
I'm a native New Yorker who moved with my husband to NC in 2015 to be nearer to family. I love the beaches and mounatins here. I spend my free time with my family, including my two dogs. I enjoy being out in nature - hiking, canoeing, swimming and simply wandering. I love to read and write the "old school" ways, take photos, listen to music and podcasts and do the NYTimes crosswords. My spiritual practices of mindfulness, insight meditation, journaling, morning pages and gratitude guide and center me.
Couples Counseling
“ A relationship is a dance-and the rhythms and habitual steps of the dance have their own momentum-can take over. In EFT, we look at the dance you are caught in and how it leaves you both hurting and frustrated. We help you step out of your negative dance and create a new dance that is safer, closer and more satisfying. We talk about emotions a lot because they are the music of the dance- we help you understand the signals you send that might make it hard for your partner to come close and help you send new emotional signals that pull your partner towards you and help you dance together in harmony.”
Sue Johnson, Founder of Emotionally Focused Couples' Therapy
Couples often come to therapy to discover if it is possible to reignite the hope for love, support, protection and comfort that drew you together. In couples therapy, we strive to repair the 'dance' or cycle of automatic responses and behaviors in your relationship that have caused pain, hurt, disconnection and despair. The work is to build a safe haven for connection and love to flourish. Sometimes, it is also about helping you to move on from the relationship in a clear and conscious way.
If you’re looking for Couples' Therapy sessions with a psychotherapist who is experienced with various methods of couples counseling including Imago and EFT Couples therapy, and has years of experience with couples, then you’ve come to the right place. I work attentively and compassionately every step of the way to help couples develop new ways of understanding one another and strengthen the important bond you share.
Individual Counseling
When we deny our stories and disengage from tough emotions, they don’t go away; instead, they own us, they define us. Our job is not to deny the story, but to defy the ending—to rise strong, recognize our story, and rumble with the truth until we get to a place where we think, Yes. This is what happened. This is my truth. And I will choose how this story ends.”
― Brené Brown, Rising Strong: How the Ability to Reset Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
Therapy is about sharing your story. It is a unique chance to uncover where you are stuck, in trouble, unable to move forward and grow. It is also an opportunity to explore what brings you joy, what ignites your passion and how you can create a more full and beautiful life.
Since you are reading this, I believe you're seeking to connect with someone who is able to help you to remove the power of whatever is holding you back in your life and to discover new ways of thinking and being. Sometimes the blocks lie in your history, sometimes in present circumstances. Sometimes there are biochemical causes. Usually our problems are multifaceted. Using a holistic (mind-body-spiritual) approach and attuning to all all aspects of self, my work with you is focused on breaking things down in order to empower growth and flourishing of life. As Rumi's quote illustrates so poetically, (in therapy I think) we 'become "ground" and crumbled so the "wildflowers can come up" where we are. Therapy is a deep encounter and life springs from encounter.
Get in Touch
FYI
My practice is virtual at this time via Zoom, FaceTime or phone. If you are interested or would like more information, please send your information and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank youl
Regina Abdou, PLLC, LPC-S, LCAS
Winston-Salem, NC, 27106