A Private Professional Agency For Relationships & Personal Growth Since 1986
We Offer Professional Counseling For:
- Family of Origin Issues
- Relationships
- Abuse and trauma
- Codependency
- Shame
- Depression and Anxiety
- Anger
- Communication
- Individual, family or couples relationship counseling
- Group therapy
- Divorce decisions and mediation
- Mindfulness
- Meditation
- Telehealth
- Conflict resolution
All services are confidential.
We believe that much of the pain and difficulty we experience in our lives and our relationships began in
the past and stays active through the stories we tell ourselves and our habits. Our present day behavior and
choices are influenced by the unspoken rules we learned in our family; unresolved grief; feelings of shame and
inadequacy; and negative self-talk. Habits we learned, teaching that was not helpful, and needs that were not
met often drive our present behavior. Thoughts, feelings and behaviors all can be changed through mindful
awareness and compassionate choices.
Our approach to recovery and wellness is based on the belief that ineffective, shame motivated,
or destructive behavior patterns can be changed through a gradual, compassionate relearning process that
combines education, awareness, insight and choice-making.
As our identity and self esteem are restored, our choices become healthier, our self-compassion increases,
and the quality of our lives and relationships improves. Change is possible!
All Licensed Professional Counselors associated with Counseling Center have achieved at least
Masters level degrees and have extensive experience in individual and group therapy.
All therapy groups are structured; screening by staff counselor is required before group begins.
Group programs require Covid vaccination to participate
Counseling Center 2023 Programming
We provide individual and couples counseling as
a starting place for all interested clients. Group work is an important
option for some clients.
People Pleasing and Self Care Group
People pleasing is a learned behavior, a habit, a way of being in the world that results in resentment and imbalance in our relationships.
If you find yourself taking care of others instead of yourself, saying yes when you’d rather say no, seeking approval, feeling resentful and guilty too much of the time:
Join us for a circle of learning and support.
- Learn the dynamics of people pleasing
- Identify the causes and fears that drive people pleasing
- Learn strategies to set boundaries and limits
- Identify your needs and feelings
- Discover your authentic self
What if you do not have to keep being “nice” and taking care of others?
Learn to value your needs and feelings as much as those of others, and deal with the
guilt of saying no. People pleasing prevents us from having freedom to choose our own
path, and create a life and relationships that are genuine and authentic.
6 weeks
Thursday 12:30-2:00
$50 per week
Deb Chambers, facilitator
Counseling Center
Beginning Mindfulness Group
We will meet for 90 minutes each week for 6 weeks. Mindfulness start dates are offered every quarter, call for next start date.
The essentials of mindfulness will be practiced and discussed. The group fee is $50 per week for 6 weeks, or
$200 paid in full the first night. The group is led by Nadine Hillesheim.
This experience will assist attendees with establishing a mindfulness practice and give all an opportunity to
practice and learn about mindfulness, meditation, and the value of being present in each moment of each day.
Mindfulness helps us learn to recognize when we are caught up in our busy minds and step back to access fresh,
more effective options. We can learn to take a different stance towards our thoughts and move to a more peaceful
and effective way of dealing with life’s inevitable ups and downs.
Benefits of mindfulness include:
- Greater sense of well being
- Decreased anxiety
- Improved pain management
- Better focus
- Decreased reactivity
- Increased self awareness
- Reducing stress
- Improved coping with depression and anxiety
Shame, Codependency and Relationship Group
We will meet for 8 weeks and explore how shame, negative core beliefs and codependency affect our
relationship with others and self. We will read about shame, learn how it affects needs and feelings, and
develop tools to build better relationships. We believe that your relationship with yourself affects all
your relationships. We also believe that needs and feelings are the language of intimacy, and that
vulnerability is a necessary component for authentic human connection. Begins this winter/spring, 6-8pm, facilitated
by Deb Chambers. $60/week, $450 if paid in full.
Family of Origin, Codependency and Self Compassion Group
We will meet for 8 weeks and explore family history, communication patterns, shame,
boundaries, grief and how our family patterns are shaping our current patterns. Self care and developing
self compassion will also be explored. Cost is $60 per week; $500 if paid in total on the first night. Facilitated by Deb
Chambers.
Family of Origin Group Self-Assessment
Answer yes or no to the following questions:
- Are you concerned about repeating the parenting you received as a child?
- Are you a caretaker of others but not yourself?
- Do you say yes to requests when you’d like to say no?
- Do you seek the approval of others more than yourself?
- Are you afraid of being selfish if you take care of yourself?
- Do you make decisions out of fear?
- Is your self-esteem based on the happiness of those around you?
- Do you feel unsure of your own needs and feelings?
- Is your mood determined by how others feel?
- Are others’ needs more important than your own?
- Was there emotional, physical, or sexual abuse in your family system?
- Did you grow up with the unwritten rules: don’t talk, don’t feel, don’t trust?
Answering yes to the above questions indicates that some form of family of origin work will be a helpful,
healing thing for you to do.
Emotional Eating
Mondays: 4-5pm. $30 per week, led by Nadine Hillesheim.
This group is grounded in the belief that we all know pretty much what to eat. The trouble comes when we
find ourselves eating when we are not truly hungry to deal with emotions and situations. We turn to food
to calm us, relax us, avoid feelings, etc. Until we have alternative coping skills or resolve the
underlying issues, we will continue to battle with weight, our health, and the next diet plan. We will
review the basics of what to eat and needed skills around this, but the primary focus is on working with
emotions, underlying issues, and self care skills so that emotional eating is no longer needed.
Women's Midlife and Beyond Support Group
This group is intended to meet the needs of women (age 50+). We often have unique concerns at this age due to
external events such as illness or loss of parents, empty nest, divorce, etc. or internal feelings of
restlessness, uncertainty, longings for change, feeling overloaded, seeking meaning, or sorting out our
values at this stage of life. This group explores ideas and options to move through this time with the
support and wisdom of each other.
Group programs require Covid vaccination to participate
- People Pleasing and Self Care Group
6 week group therapy program
People pleasing is a learned behavior, a habit, a way of being in the world that results in resentment and imbalance in our relationships.
If you find yourself taking care of others instead of yourself, saying yes when you’d rather say no, seeking approval, feeling resentful and guilty too much of the time:
Join us for a circle of learning and support.
- Family of Origin & Codependency & Self Compassion
8 week group therapy program
Focus is on childhood, shame, boundary and grief issues.
See the self-assessment questions below for more info on this program.
- Relationship & Intimacy & Shame Group
8 week group therapy program
Recognizing the influence of childhood, the focus is on
relationships, shame, intimacy, anger, and current life problems.
Focus is on continued learning and practice of living in a recovery process,
with the support of others on a similar path.
6 week program
Focus is on learning about the mechanics and benefits of mindfulness as well as practicing mindfulness.
- Women's Midlife and Beyond Support Group
This group is intended to meet the needs of women (age 50+). We often have unique concerns at this age due to
external events such as illness or loss of parents, empty nest, divorce, etc. or internal feelings of
restlessness, uncertainty, longings for change, feeling overloaded, seeking meaning, or sorting out our
values at this stage of life. This group explores ideas and options to move through this time with the
support and wisdom of each other.
Family of Origin Group Self-Assessment
Answer yes or no to the following questions:
- Are you concerned about repeating the parenting you received as a child?
- Are you a caretaker of others but not yourself?
- Do you say yes to requests when you’d like to say no?
- Do you seek the approval of others more than yourself?
- Are you afraid of being selfish if you take care of yourself?
- Do you make decisions out of fear?
- Is your self-esteem based on the happiness of those around you?
- Do you feel unsure of your own needs and feelings?
- Is your mood determined by how others feel?
- Are others’ needs more important than your own?
- Was there emotional, physical, or sexual abuse in your family system?
- Did you grow up with the unwritten rules: don’t talk, don’t feel, don’t trust?
Answering yes to the above questions indicates that some form of family of origin work will be a helpful,
healing thing for you to do.
The Counseling Center group is a therapy experience designed to assist individuals identify the roots of
self-esteem, shame, identity, and self compassion concerns. It helps connect the past with the present,
and make lasting changes in identity and behaviors. It is not about blame, it is about uncovering what we
learned about self (beliefs) in our growing up experience and taking responsibility for creating healthier
messages and choices for the future. The best way to not repeat the past is to understand it!
Group meetings are for 2 hours, one day a week, for 9 consecutive weeks. Invest in yourself and your
future!
Deb Chambers, MS, LPC

I am a Master's level professional counselor with more than 30 years of experience providing couple's,
individual and group therapy. I enjoy my work and consider it a privilege to assist people in improving the
quality of their lives and relationships. I work with people to change patterns and self defeating habits,
improve self care and self compassion, develop mindfulness, live out their true nature and free themselves
from shame, anxiety and depression. Topics frequently worked with in my office include grief, forgiveness,
shame, letting go of control, co-dependency and approval seeking, intimacy, compassion and self-care,
family of origin, and acceptance. I believe relationships are important and require maintenance to stay
vital and healthy. At a very basic level, I have found knowing one's own self, having a sense of humor,
asking a good question and taking a breath are all useful companions in the journey toward health and a
meaningful life.
Nadine Hillesheim, MS, LPCC, LP

I am a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and Licensed Psychologist. I have more than 25 years of
experience and I love my work as it allows me follow my passion of helping people find meaning and master
whatever challenges they face with care and compassion. I work with individuals, groups, and couples. I see
our internal relationship with ourselves to be central to our personal happiness and the health of any other
relationship we may be in. My areas of experience include mindfulness training, anxiety, depression, couples
therapy, trauma, EMDR, loss, emotional overeating, and self-value/self-compassion. While I often work with
painful issues, I see the place for humor at times. I also believe mindfulness and acceptance can help us
move through struggles with more ease.
I have found that resolving core issues is what helps make lasting change. My approach to counseling
includes full presence and deep listening, exploring any unhelpful inner beliefs, identifying any
contributing biological or medical issues, offering skills to use outside of sessions, and helping people to
uncover their inner wisdom about what’s needed to heal and move forward on their journey. I take a holistic
approach to mental health and draw from many sources. I believe in using what works for each individual.
Read more about me at Psychology Today.
Tracey Werner-Wilson, MSW,
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

I am a marriage and family therapist licensed in North Dakota and Kentucky, working in the mental
health field for over 30 years. This fall I moved from Kentucky to Fargo and look forward to meeting
new people and getting to know a new community. In Kentucky, I worked full-time at the University of
Kentucky, teaching and supervising interns learning to be marriage and family therapists. I also had a
small therapy practice and enjoyed working with individuals, couples, and families to strengthen their
relationship with their self and others because I believe relationships are important to a fulfilling and
satisfying life. Whether we are single or part of a couple, we are all born to be connected and need
those connections to live a fulfilling life.
As a therapist I primarily use the Emotionally Focused Therapy model to help individuals improve their
communication and deepen their connections to their self and to each other. Improved communication
allows them to reach out and ask a loved one to meet their needs and to be there for that person when
something is asked of them. Our time together will be working to understand the current pattern of
communication and what drives it, usually an unmet need or unresolved hurt that can keep
relationships deadlocked in conflict for years. Once we understand the behaviors, perceptions, and
emotions that drive the pattern, we can change the negative to a positive cycle that helps deepen the
emotional connection and establish a safe haven that allows us to turn to our partner, a family member
or friend in times of distress. Understanding our pattern of communication becomes a journey towards
understanding of the self and others which can lead to a more fulfilling and joyous life. I look forward to
accompanying you on your journey.