Stephanie George, MSSA, LISW, CDCA

Stephanie is licensed by the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage & Family Therapist Board as a Licensed Independent Social Worker, and by the Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals Board as a Chemical Dependency Counselor Assistant. She received her master’s degree in social work from The Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University, with a concentration in direct practice – adult mental health.

Her previous social work experience includes providing individual and group behavioral health services at a grief/bereavement center and at a federally qualified health center. Prior to joining the staff at Affirmations, Stephanie also worked as a behavioral health therapist at a not-for-profit community-based healthcare organization specializing in providing integrated care to the LGBTQ community and persons affected by HIV/AIDS.

Stephanie is trained as a generalist, but areas of particular interest include: working with individuals identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, transgender, gender non-binary; anxiety; depression; grief/loss; life transitions; relationship concerns; work/career concerns; co-occurring mental health and physical health concerns; stress management; HIV/AIDS; substance use.

She universally applies a strength-based perspective in her work with clients, giving emphasis to a client’s abilities, talents, and resources. Interventions utilized in her work include humanistic approaches, cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and mindfulness-based techniques while working toward client-identified goals for therapy.

Jessica Houston, Ph.D.

Jessica is a licensed psychologist, who earned her Ph.D. from Marquette University. She obtained her undergraduate degree in psychology at University of Illinois. Jessica completed her predoctoral psychology internship at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, focused on therapy for children and families. She specialized in trauma-informed interventions for children and families during her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Center of Excellence for Children in State Custody, where she later continued on as a full-time psychologist.

Jessica believes the foundation of effective therapy is a strong therapeutic relationship based on empathy, understanding, and collaboration. As such, Jessica encourages her clients to actively participate in their own treatment planning to set goals that will have the most impact on their lives. Jessica relies heavily on evidence-based treatments such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Systemic Family Therapy. Jessica also incorporates mindfulness-based techniques in treatment. Jessica also recognizes the importance of choosing a therapeutic approach that fits best for each individual client’s needs, strengths, and goals.

Jessica specializes in treatment for children, adolescents, and families. She particularly enjoys helping parents learn the best ways to manage their child’s disruptive or externalizing behaviors (e.g., defiance, hyperactivity, aggression). She also enjoys working with individuals and families who struggle with internalizing concerns such as depression, anxiety, or trauma. Jessica is currently accepting new clients.

Amy Pfeiffer Nims, M.A., PCC-S

Affirmations is thrilled to include Amy Pfeiffer Nims, MA, PCC-S as a part-time psychotherapist on our staff. Amy has been with Affirmations since September of 2006.

Currently, Amy is the full-time Associate Director of Foster Care at The Buckeye Ranch.  She has extensive experience with adolescent and family counseling, and formerly worked counseling students at The Ohio State University. Amy received her Master’s in Clinical Counseling at The Ohio State University and her Bachelor’s from Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana.

Amy is a goal-oriented therapist demonstrating trauma-informed approaches based in Solution-Focused Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Systems Approach, and some Psychodynamics. She specializes in individual, family, and couple’s work, adolescent and adult populations, and LGBTQ issues and support. Amy has experience working with depression, survivors of sexual and physical assault/abuse, family dynamics, Borderline Personality Disorder, self-esteem issues, and relationship issues. Amy has run empowerment, support, and psychodynamic groups for young women, gay/bisexual men, and LGBTQ youth.

Amy has guest lectured at Purdue University, The Ohio State University, and Texas A&M – Corpus Christi.  At a local, state and national level, she has presented to mental health professionals, agencies, and the general public on issues such as: stress management, family relationships, LGBTQ culture, sexual development, relationship management, trauma-informed care, and foster care nuances.

Tracy Schurch, LISW-S

Tracy, a licensed independent social worker, grew up in a small town in Ohio before embarking on her educational journey. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology from Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio where she spent her time focusing on research and behavior. She received her Masters in Social Work from the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University. Her concentration was in children, youth, and families, and she spent much of her time working in mental health settings.

Tracy has worked in school settings, community mental health, psychiatric hospitals, and education. She has provided mental health counseling services to children, adolescents, and families.  Tracy primarily works with clients who are experiencing depression, anxiety, trauma, life transitions, family issues, self-esteem, identity concerns, and adolescence in the LGBT community. She also has received comprehensive training in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy along with cognitive behavioral therapy. Tracy wants to engage you in a collaborative process where you are always respected and able to share and work to improve your life.

Rachel Secttor, M.A., LPCC, NCC

It all started at Earlham College. Rachel Secttor was finishing her senior year and needed help. She found it at a psychologist’s office and, after a positive experience in counseling, she graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in English and Music. Rachel tried a variety of jobs including working in the music industry, nannying a 2-year-old, and real estate management.

While living in Nashville, TN she decided it was time to go back to school and become a counselor herself. Rachel got her Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Trevecca Nazarene University while working at Starbucks. She moved to Cincinnati in 2015 to complete her internship at Xavier University. The day after she finished, she started working at Eating Recovery Center of Ohio in Cincinnati. Working with eating disorders, anxiety, trauma, substance abuse, and personality disorders for over 2 years has allowed Rachel to hone practical ways to help people make major changes in their lives.

She enjoys working with adults 18 and older and especially likes helping people through phase-of-life changes like moving, transitions to new jobs, and graduations. Rachel uses evidence-based counseling techniques (CBT, DBT, RO-DBT, ACT, narrative therapy and exposure therapy), her own life experience, and humor to show her clients that change, while challenging, can be an opportunity to grow. If you’d like someone to talk to in the hopes of living a valued life, Rachel is currently accepting new clients.

Heidi K. Carter, LPCC-S, LICDC

Heidi K. Carter is a Supervising Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC-S) and a Licensed Independent Chemical Dependency Counselor (LICDC), specializing in treating mental health and chemical dependency issues. Heidi grew up in Valparaiso, Indiana, a small town in northwest Indiana. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Augustana College, her master’s degree in counseling psychology from Illinois State University, and her master’s degree in counselor education from University of Dayton.

In graduate school, Heidi worked with college students in the Student Counseling Center at Illinois State University. She also worked in a local mental health center during her graduate training with clients who had mental health and substance use issues. Her first job placement was working with adults who had suffered brain injuries at a rehabilitation center in North West Chicago.

Upon moving to Columbus with her husband, Heidi worked for a private practice treating children and adults who were referred by their physician. She also worked for a local mental health center with the chronically mentally ill population. She then moved on to working for Adena Medical Center’s outpatient counseling center with children and adults doing both groups and individual counseling.

Heidi has worked for the last 18 years with individuals with mental health, trauma, and addiction issues at CompDrug, Inc. where the primary clientele was individuals with opioid addiction issues on medicated assisted treatment. She had experience there with both individual and group counseling. She has been trained in EMDR (Eye movement Desensitization Reprocessing) since 2001 which is a therapeutic technique to assist individuals with unresolved trauma, grief and loss. Also, during her time there, she trained with Brené Brown and became a Certified Daring Way Facilitator. Brené Brown’s work focuses on shame resilience, vulnerability, self-compassion, authenticity and living a whole-hearted life. This certification allows her to facilitate both The Daring Way and Rising Strong curriculums in groups or individually to help people move through difficult shame issues.

Heidi is trained as a generalist, and is comfortable working with most presenting concerns (trauma, addiction, grief/loss, depression, anxiety, life transitions, parenting, caregiver stress, co-dependency, chronic illness/health issues, and

communication/relationship issues) and is passionate about working with people who have been marginalized by society. Heidi’s experience has had a focus and training in attachment theory looking at the influence of family of origin issues on how we develop as people and interact in relationships. She looks at how our experiences and traumas forms us, looking at the patterns we have fallen into, examining our values and helping you be your authentic self to allow for full connection in relationships.

Paula Bearns Keller

Paula is a people person and enjoys working and interacting with clients.  She joined Affirmations to round-out her professional career after holding various and diverse senior administrative positions in the non-profit and business communities, as well as a paralegal in private companies and law firms in and around the Columbus-area.  Paula and her husband live on Big Darby Creek where she loves kayaking, gardening, and entertaining friends, neighbors and family.