Biography
It takes courage to face issues in life. Therapy can be scary at first but my experience with clients is relief soon follows. It may seem as though you take two steps forward and one back, but treatment can be rewarding and change your life. Prerequisites for success are a determination to affect change and our therapeutic relationship. It is important that you feel comfortable and my office should be a safe place to be open and honest. If these elements exist change can be achieved.
At a young age, I knew I had listening skills, a curiosity about people and an ability to be objective and empathic.
In my first career, I used these skills as an advertising sales representative living in Dallas and New York City.
After cancer interrupted my life in New York City I decided to change course in my career. I knew these skills would be helpful in the mental health field so I moved back to Baton Rouge and earned my Master’s in Social Work from LSU in 2002.
I have been blessed with excellent mentors during my training and since graduation. In graduate school I worked with the Baton Rouge Domestic Abuse agency and at Family Services. In this period I saw women at their most vulnerable and in constant fear. My job was to give them an opportunity to be heard and to help them see other options for their lives. At Family Services, I learned to adapt quickly and was exposed to a variety of clients with mental health diagnosis including depression, anxiety, marital issues, substance abuse, grief, ADD and ADHD, personality disorders, PTSD, sexual identity, and sexual abuse issues.
While living in Virginia, I counseled dual diagnosis clients, clients who struggle with addiction and have mental health issues. This experience provided me with an in-depth knowledge of addiction and treatments available for rehabilitation.
In the St. Tammany Parish school system I counseled students at Northshore High School and became familiar with available resources and how to access them. It gave me the rewarding experience of helping children and adolescents achieve their goals and provided parents with relief from the frustration and stress associated with helping children academically.
Currently, in addition to my private practice, I am a group leader for St. Tammany Outreach for the Prevention of Suicide where we assist family and friends who have suffered a loss due to suicide. As an aside, it is a sad reality but suicide in our country is an epidemic and our parish has the highest percentage of suicide in the state. Working with these families has enhanced my ability to work with grief issues and to better understand the psyche of a client who is on the verge of suicide.
I am currently in private practice in the Mandeville/Covington area.
My husband, Allen, and I moved to the Northshore in 2006 and enjoy being close to our friends and family in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and on the Gulf Coast. We felt drawn back here after Katrina and have never regretted our decision. In south Louisiana there is a language only those of us who have grown up here understand – fish fries on Good Friday, crawfish boils, LSU football, and Sunday lunch.
As your therapist I hope we can establish a relationship in which you feel comfortable and safe to expose yourself and move forward in your life. My goal as your therapist is to be emphatic, compassionate, focused, insightful, and knowledgeable. I will treat you with respect while operating my practice based on Judeo-Christian values.
You do not have to take this journey alone.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you.
Kelli Churchill
5001 Hwy 190, Suite B1
Covington, LA 70433
Phone: 985-630-8350
Fax: 985-867-3438