Jackie Potts-Powell

I am licensed in Louisiana and Texas with 20 years of professional work experience. I have a Master of Education Degree in Community Counseling from The University of Louisiana at Monroe. I hold Louisiana license number 2935 as a Licensed Professional Counselor, Louisiana license number 858 as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Texas license number 77206 as a Licensed Professional Counselor. I am a Board Approved Supervisor of Provisional Licensed Professional Counselors (PLPCs) in Louisiana. I also hold Teletherapy Privilege.

I approach counseling from a present focused and ecological perspective. I encourage clients to work towards self-awareness, being action and strength oriented in order to have the capacity to find within themselves the resources necessary to solve their problems and to discover the conditions that will make change possible. I accept a client’s immediate family relationships and larger social context as being important resources in solving life’s problems.

I also use Gestalt therapy, which means that I assist couples, families, groups and individuals in increasing their self-awareness through active techniques. Techniques that I often employ are instruction and modeling of communication skills, family role-playing, empty chair, fantasy work and between session interactive assignments. This “homework” is a vital part of the therapeutic process. The completion of homework is necessary if the client is to get the most from the therapeutic experience.

I have experience working with adults who are experiencing difficulties in life that may include also having a mental health diagnosis. I have experience as an MST Therapist and MST Supervisor. MST is a type of intervention for at-risk teens and families. I have experience in working with both adolescent and adult substance abuse clients, and community based mental health clients of all ages. I have experience in providing parenting skills to parents with parenting concerns, women in recovery from addictions, tobacco cessation skills and substance abuse assessments.

I believe that you are the expert of your story and that you have many strengths that will assist you in overcoming things that challenge you. Taking the first step to sign up for therapy can take courage and I am proud of you for getting started!