Christopher connors, LCSW

Originally from southwest Indiana and Missouri, I have spent the previous 9 years as a mental health counselor for children and  adolescents in the public charter school setting, both in Wimberley and Austin.

I have always prided myself on creating calm and nurturing  environments where young people begin to feel more at ease, and understand how valuable, how essential, communication is when experiencing some kind of conflict – whether internal or external, and no matter how big or small the issue may be.

I believe all of us possess innate

abilities that we can draw upon when we are facing  uncertainty, pain, or fear. Oftentimes we are unaware that these strengths even exist, let alone how to spring them into action. We tend to doubt ourselves a lot, most certainly when we are younger and are  constantly trying to figure things out – or better yet – trying to figure ourselves out.

My clinical experience weighs heavily in, but is not limited to: treatment for anxiety, depression, complex trauma, grief and loss, healthy relationships, anger and emotion  regulation, selfesteem and social skills.

I have always loved working with young people in the therapeutic setting, and have often  thought about the origin of this love. As a child and throughout my teen  years I did not feel comfortable opening up to anyone. Maybe the opportunities were there and I just didn’t know it. Or maybe I just couldn’t bring myself to trust it. I have grown to learn over the years how much that would have benefited me then. I mention this only to highlight the courage and vulnerability I am aware that it takes to  share very personal feelings and experiences with a therapist, who essentially is just a stranger at first.

But as the relationship develops so does that trust, and that is the foundation of what makes therapy such a powerful thing. That is where we begin to flourish.

It is normal to have no idea where to start or what words to use when describing what we are feeling. And that is okay.

I will meet you wherever you are. What I ask in return is that you push yourself a bit past the discomfort – knowing that each time you do you are moving towards making incredible gains for yourself.

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and  Board-Approved Supervisor in the State of Texas. I hold Bachelors’ degrees in Social Work and Liberal Arts-Spanish from Southwest Texas  State University (currently Texas State University) in San Marcos and a Master of Social Work degree from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio. I have also completed a Project Management Course at St. Edward’s University in Austin.

I  am the owner of Journeys Counseling Services, PLLC and have offices in San Marcos and Wimberley. I have been a licensed Social Worker in the state of Texas since 1987. My career has been focused on trauma and the ways humans cope. I have been working to end the pain caused by sexual violence and trauma since 1985. I have provided therapy to children, adolescents and adults. I am an experienced trainer and speaker. I have provided training to Judges, attorneys, nurses, mental health  clinicians, law enforcement officers, probation and parole officers, polygraphers, and the public. I participated in a documentary on sex  offenders and have been interviewed by radio, television, and print media in both Spanish and English.

I have served on local, state, and international boards related to mental health service delivery. I have presented at local, state, national, and international conferences. I have served as a member of the Executive Board of Directors for the  Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers, the Texas Association  Against Sexual Assault and the Association for Substance Abuse Programs. I am a co-author of “Recognition, Response, and Resolution: Historical Responses to Rape and Child Molestation” in The Prevention of Sexual Violence; A Practitioner’s Sourcebook.

I am the former Executive Director of a state agency and a substance abuse program. I am in private practice, supervising Master Level Social  Workers and teaching at Texas State University. My clinical practice focuses on assisting clients to move through life as the strongest person they can be. I am compassionate and caring. I believe we all have a journey in life and when our road takes an unexpected turn, we do not have to travel it alone.

I have been fortunate enough to be of service to others for the last eleven years. I currently hold two licenses in the sate of Texas, LCSW and LCDC, and have several certifications to enhance outcomes for clients.

I take a person centered approach and believe that  collaboration in the therapeutic process is the key to success.  Listening all the way through to what is affecting your ability to surge forward in living free is a privilege that I do not take lightly. The greatest gift in working with others is walking with someone through what is keeping them stuck and bring witness to the empowerment and freedom on the other side. I am adaptable in my approach, as I do not believe the therapeutic process is a one size fits all experience. I have experience working with substance use disorders, dual diagnosis, trauma, crisis intervention, and LGBTQIA populations. Approaching each individual with and open diverse and culturally competent mindset, so as to engage in solution with them and with families.

The study and the practice of psychotherapy have provided me with some of the most meaningful experiences imaginable. There is nothing quite so engaging as to walk with someone down a somewhat difficult path, apparently filled with any variety of problems, some of them causing despair, others just regular every day issues, and those experiences teach me and give me satisfaction. I like what I do. It is my belief that someone who is struggling, whether it is a serious mental illness, or a person who just needs to brainstorm about a problem they are experiencing, has a sense of what they are needing. I also believe the human spirit is resilient. We are able to learn and grow in ways that are just surprising.

I started my professional journey studying pastoral counseling at a theological seminary. After several years I went back to school and took a Master’s degree in counseling and was trained in an outpatient clinic at a psychiatric hospital in San Marcos, TX. In 1991, I started an outpatient practice at Cedar Creek Associates in San Marcos, and have been there for 35 years. Much of what I learned at the seminary was just run-of-the-mill Carl Rogers, Client Centered Therapy. I respect my patients. I learned later under terrific supervision about a variety of tools: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, a systems approach to Family Therapy and yes: A lot of Freud’s stuff I really like! All of which combines into an eclectic approach. I use any tool in the toolbox that works.

I am good at some things and better at others. I am referred to frequently for family therapy with adolescents and trauma related anxiety, such as PTSD. I have worked with hundreds of sexual abuse victims and I like to work with couples. I do play therapy; teach parents to be better at it, and help families to work together as a group better. I have also worked with organizations to provided Team Building and Team Communication strategies and  practices. I have worked with companies, churches and provided workshops in a five state area for Early Head Start and Head Start teams. Most importantly, if something isn’t going well in the therapy session, most of the time we fix it. Talking about how it is helping or not is an important part of the process.

Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, my life journey took me to live in North Carolina, Texas, and California before settling down in San Marcos in 1982. My professional education includes an undergraduate  degree from Memphis State University and a Master of Science in Social Work from the University of Texas at Austin.

My practices have included family therapy in western North Carolina (where I almost learned how to clog) and inpatient psychotherapy at the San Marcos Treatment Center. I was honored to be asked to start and develop the outpatient program for the treatment center, which we named the Riverwood Professional Center, where I served as Director for 5 years, supervising all its employees and programs. While I was the outpatient  Director, I served on the Senior Management Team. Drawing on that training and experience, I have consulted to a number of local businesses on management and employee issues.

Currently my practice includes individual therapy for all ages; couples therapy; family therapy; infant mental health; and play therapy/cognitive behavioral therapy with children. I am on numerous managed care panels and employee assistance program lists, and I have assisted EAP’s in trauma and critical incident debriefings.

I enjoy the outdoors and have backpacked hundreds of miles, and canoed and camped in the Appalachians, California, Alaska, Montana, Arkansas, Colorado, among  other states, especially Texas. Before entering the field of mental health, I held a variety of jobs, including factory worker, waiter, and  deckhand on the Mississippi River on dredge boats and towboats. I  actually backpacked across the country before I began my career in  mental health.

Happily married, my wife and I have 2 adult children. My leisure pleasures include reading, running, and family  activities. For over a dozen years I have been a referee for youth and adult soccer. (If that doesn’t teach you patience, nothing will!) And I’ve been known to strum the guitar while my little brother plays the banjo, fiddle, and mandolin.

I got into the counseling field in a bit of a backwards way. I received my Bachelors of Arts Degree in Public Relations and Marketing in 1993 from Northeast Louisiana University (now the University of  Louisiana at Monroe) in Monroe, Louisiana. After looking for work in my chosen field and being near homeless for almost a year, I took a job providing case management services for children and adults diagnosed with serious emotional disorders and chronic mental illness.

Working with this population was challenging and frustrating at the same time.  It seemed that many of the professional people in the community mental health system were not very supportive and, at times, lacked empathy for the ways their clients suffered from their emotional issues on a daily basis. It was during this time, I came to believe that there had to be a better, more respectful way to help people resolve and cope with very  difficult circumstances in their lives. I also realized, if I wanted to do something about it, I needed to go back to school.

I returned to NLU in 1995 and earned my Master of Arts Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy in 1997. Following my graduation, my new wife and I moved to Curry County Oregon, where I provided services to individuals, couples and family in the local mental health center. I was there for over four years and had the opportunity to develop and provide services as the Child and Family Program Director and later, the Mental Health Program Director.

During that same period, my wife and I struggled to start our family. Working through several difficult, complicated  pregnancies, we were finally blessed with two wonderful daughters. We were also very far away from our loved ones in Louisiana and Texas. So, in 2001, we decided to move back to Texas so our kids would know their family more closely than through letters and phone calls.

Over the course of the last twenty years, my practice has included work with individuals, couples and families who reached out for counseling services for a wide range of presenting problems. I tend to work from a problem-solving, strategic, solution-focused, and brief therapy perspective, but I have also trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Trauma Informed care. I believe working towards helping a person recognize and build on their personal strengths to address and resolve problems in their own way is the most respectful and supportive role I can play.

I received my Bachelors in Psychology and my Master Of Social Work degrees from the University of Houston. I then did a Fellowship in Clinical Social Work in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University Of Texas Medical Branch At Galveston.

Upon completion of my Fellowship, I worked as Clinical Director of inpatient programs for children and adolescents at hospitals in Beaumont, Texas,  Williamsburg, Virginia, and The Brown Schools in San Marcos, Texas. I have also maintained private practices part time in addition to my inpatient duties until 1994 when I began engaging in private practice on a full time basis.

My clinical work includes clients ranging in age from four years old to sixty years of age. Clinical focus of my  therapy includes life adjustment problems, affective and anxiety  disorders, and some personality disorders, utilizing play therapy and parent counseling with children, individual therapy with teens and adults, and family and marital therapy as the need dictates.

On a personal note, I am widowed with a grown son and step son. I am also a proud grandfather.