Janalee Weaver Psychotherapy, LMHC

Following a 30-year career as an elementary and special education teacher, I was drawn to the field of counseling as the result of interactions with families needing mental health support. In my 11 years of working as a therapist at an agency, I worked with clients aged 5-85 and found that my life experiences and education were well-suited to help them reach the goal of improving their lives, especially in the areas of grief and loss, relationships, and life transitions.

If an individual makes the decision to work with me, they will complete an intake form to help me better understand and assess them. They will become a partner in setting goals for themselves and will be guided toward discovering their strengths and exploring areas of concern. Progress will be evaluated by a client's improved sense of wellbeing as well as their attainment of goals. It is a joy to work with clients invested in improving the quality of their lives.

My life experiences have led me to believe that no matter what life experiences an individual has been through, positive changes to their quality of life can always be attained. Every individual has strengths that they may not be aware of and these can be tapped into for growth. Individuals learn from all of their life experiences, whether they consider them positive or negative.

My thesis on "Narratives from Grief Counseling: Client Perspectives on Effective Interventions and Strategies for Recovery" was presented at Brockport in 2010 and completed following personal experiences with grief and loss. The subjects chosen for interviews had experienced a variety of losses. Their experiences combined with research on coping with grief resulted in increased awareness on my part of the strategies that assist individuals struggling with many forms of grief.