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.
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 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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.