Teresa Hinkle, LCSW, LCAS, CCS
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 10 years of practice experience. I currently see clients virtually in both North Carolina and Tennessee. I received my Master's Degree in Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and have spent many years working in community behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment. My work in these areas has greatly shaped how I view therapy and how I designed my private practice. I am committed to sticking with you through hard moments, uncertainty and major life changes. I understand how environment can be as important as mindset and working with me means that we will address both. You will find me to be supportive and an advocate for your complete health.
My Approach
My approach to therapy is person-centered and strengths based, meaning I believe that you have the unique abilities, skills and wisdom needed to address your problems and reach your goals. My role is help you identify those things and apply them to your life in a way that is productive. I am deeply collaborative and operate from the belief that you are the expert on your life and your thoughts and experiences matter most.
What To Expect
A non judgemental, warm space. There is no such thing as too much or too messy. You can bring all of your thoughts and experiences and we will hold it together in a safe, supportive way. Open conversation and real feedback. I will lead with curiosity, offer alternative perspectives and provide gentle redirection if needed. When appropriate, I like to incorporate humor into sessions and I am always open to your feedback.
A combination of reflection and concrete skills. Some session we may be mostly reflection on your experiences and patterns and some sessions may lean more towards learning a skills that will support you. Whichever way things lean, you will always get both.
Treatment Modalities
While there are modalities that I pull from most frequently, part of my job is matching your needs with the appropriate interventions. I will always discuss with you what approach I am using and why I feel it may be helpful.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) which focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thought patterns and behaviors.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) stems from CBT and focuses on helping accept hardships and commit to making change.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills. I do not practice DBT to the model and am not a DBT therapist, however I recieved traning and find that DBT skills can be helpful to almost anyone when used in the correct context.
Motivational Interviewing (MI) helps to resolve feelings of ambivlence.
Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) may be used to address short term and concrete issues that need resolution quickly, like during a life transition or a crisis.