Meet Stephanie Townsend, LMSW, CCTP, ART Practitioner | Trauma Therapist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stephanie Townsend, LMSW, CCTP, ART Practitioner and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephanie, how does your business help the community?
I find this question a little amusing because most people who go to school to be social workers have a need or a desire to change the world, and most of the education we get is how that simply isn’t going to happen. Instead, we change the world through education, collective action, and the merging of macro and micro changes. I personally believe I’m helping my community through my own story. After a few traumatic events in my teenage years, I started therapy for the first time, which gave me space to say hard things, practice regulating skills, be validated, and practice living in my truth. I think that I’m a better person because I’ve been to therapy. I’ve often said that my being a therapist is largely a “paying it forward” career and that if I could give people some version of the healing I received in therapy, it would have all been worth it. Change at a micro level can be hard to see but each person who engages in therapy walks away with more coping skills, better emotional regulation tools, increased self-worth, and an overall sense of healing. A lot of the hurt, trauma, and betrayal we run into in our lifetimes are often because the people who hurt us did not go to therapy themselves and continued the cycle of abuse. My business and my being a therapist allow me to engage in the stopping of the cycle of abuse by helping people see that they can live a life that they love and are comfortable in. The more people who experience those things, the better and healthier the community that you and I live in.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Yes! I am the owner and therapist of The Cozy Couch Counseling and Consultation. I’ve only been open for a few months and it’s been a fun ride of figuring out all the hats that a small business owner wears. I believe each therapist has their unique offerings that match up to the right people as they need them. For me, I offer a low-pressure, easy-going, and effective way to heal from previous hurts and uncomfortable feelings that come with life. I’ve had many of my clients state that therapy with me has been different for them because it’s like coming in to talk with a friend but this friend has useful tools and interventions and helps hold you accountable for the change you’re working towards in your life. Therapy has a reputation for being a bit stiff and I’m happy I’m able to create an environment where the process is a little easier for some. Something I’m most proud of is that I’m always searching and working towards expanding my knowledge on trauma and being able to bring multiple approaches to the table. Sometimes it can feel discouraging to people when one approach doesn’t work and can send us into a spiral of never getting better. I’m able to recognize that I won’t be able to offer everything to everyone but to have more than one answer for those who are willing to put in the work means a lot to me.

As for how I got here, becoming a social worker/therapist is a multi-year process of satisfying requirements to get to the next level, understandably so. Once I graduated with my MSW I had to test for my initial licensure, which sent me off on another three-year journey. I had to wait two years to open my practice despite having a license, and I’m coming up in my third year of having my license, which means I get to test for my clinical license soon. From a young age I always knew I wanted to own my own business and lot of the past few years have been learning everything I possibly can from amazing people who know way more than I do. A few lessons I’ve learned are to always be surrounded by people who know more than you, be willing to take more than one pathway to success, and that growth is *supposed* to take time. No one reaches their peak abilities within the first year or two of doing anything.

One thing I would want people to know about The Cozy Couch Counseling & Consultation is that while it looks like traditional talk therapy, a lot of the work I do with my clients is somatic. Meaning, that our body is having the reactions to our trauma, not our brain and I work to neutralize the nervous system that is always on fire after surviving trauma. Talk therapy that only focuses on thoughts and behaviors is absolutely needed but sometimes we need a deeper understanding of ourselves to actually break free of the weight that trauma has placed on us.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I feel like anyone who comes in from out of state should do some of the bigger things around Atlanta just because it’s part of the experience. I’ve taken friends to the Aquarium, The World of Coke, the Beltline, and the Botanical Gardens. I live in the Marietta area so I’m always down for taking friends up to the square because day or night there is always something going on. The Battery during baseball season is also an amazing experience and something I would recommend for everyone.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
In my professional life, I was blessed to have my first internship at a private practice called “A Healing Journey.” The owner, Pamela Bridgeman, and my supervisor, Amna Khan, who were both amazing therapists, welcomed me with open arms and allowed me to learn, grow, mess up, and try again, in one of the most accepting and encouraging ways I’ve ever been led. I talk about them often and frequently credit them for the fire I have for providing meaningful therapy and passing down the knowledge I have to other upcoming therapists.

Growing up, my parents were always entrepreneurs and business owners. I never saw them work for anyone else, so naturally, I never wanted to work for anyone else either. As a kid, I changed hypothetical careers a few times, at first I wanted to be a vet, then a lawyer, and then found my calling as a therapist (I was always bound to high student loans) and my mom always believed I could. My mom is a huge reason why I dream big, can get back up again when I fall, and continue marching on when people tell me no.

My husband is the absolute foundation of why I am where I am today. I had such anxiety about returning to school but his support of me had me believing I would have been crazy not to. I have a habit of talking about big dreams and then setting the bar lower to where I believe it to be “more in my reach” and he has always encouraged me to go for the dream and is never surprised when I make them happen. He has never said no to any of the crazy ideas I’ve come home with and believes in me in a way that if I had that same confidence in myself, I would probably be running for president.

Website: www.thecozycouchcounseling.com

Instagram: @TheCozyCouchCounseling

Facebook: The Cozy Couch Counseling and Consultation

Image Credits
Personal photos.