Stephnie Thomas

Anxiety Disorders Specialist, Mom, Graduate Student!.

Stephnie Thomas

About Me

Phone: 410-938-8457 ext 2

Fax: 410-825-7105

Cell: 410-236-1470

E-mail: stephniet@verizon.net

I have been working part-time as an Anxiety Disorders in vivo Specialist at the Anxiety & Stress Disorders Institute (ASDI) for the last eleven years.  As someone who comes from a family that is genetically hard-wired to have anxiety, I have some understanding of the uniquely difficult challenges people who have a diagnosable anxiety disorder face, which I believe helps me empathize with my clients and be a more effective helper.

I have a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Towson University, and am currently working on a Masters in Pastoral Counseling at Loyola College in Maryland.  Eventually I hope to gain licensure as an LCPC (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor).  In April 2008 I sat and passed the National Counselor Exam — one of the requirements for eventual licensure in the State of Maryland.  Once I have completed my Master’s degree and successfully complete additional State requirements (eagerly anticipated in May, 2009!) I will be allowed to call myself a Licensed Graduate Professional Counselor (LGPC) — which requires completion of an additional 2000 hours of supervised clinical work before I can apply to become an LCPC. 

As an undergraduate I was inducted into both the Golden Key National Honor Society and Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology.

I am a current member of both the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (www.adaa.org) and the American Counseling Association (as a student member).

I am only one of several consultants at ASDI offering services to clients. To find out more about ASDI go to www.anxietyandstress.com.  There are several links on the website that will take you to information about the treatment paradigm we use, helpful, practical information on how to deal with various anxiety disorders, as well as short biographical information about the partners and associates who work at ASDI.

My particular specialty has been in coming alongside clients to help them face the things they fear, whether it be sitting alongside them as they drive around the Baltimore Beltway, navigating the Key and Bay Bridges, overcoming fears of animals, fear of flying, etc.  The technical term for this is “assisted in vivo exposure”.

Lately I have been acquiring expertise in helping clients with hoarding issues by going into their homes (at their invitation) and helping them learn to relate to their “stuff” in a different way so that they can practice letting go of excess items.  About half of my current client load consists of clients who have been diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which sometimes manifests itself in hoarding behaviors.  Not all of my clients with OCD suffer from hoarding, however.  Some have purely mental obsessions and compulsions, which can sometimes be even more difficult to treat.

Over the last five to seven years I have developed a comprehensive program for clients with Aviaphobia (flying phobias) that includes a class which culminates in a flight accompanied by me on a commercial aircraft, as well as a support group for future and former class graduates that offers ongoing support to those who need it.

I also offer individualized help to clients with fears around flying, although I have found that the camaraderie and support offered in a group setting from those who truly understand has been helpful for the majority.  However, I acknowledge that not everyone benefits from a group experience and/or time may be a factor, so individual help is made available where possible.

Loyola’s Pastoral Counseling program requires two, 2 semester internships where students complete 1000 hours of supervised clinical work.  For my first internship I chose to work as an intern at ASDI, where, in addition to continuing with my in vivo clients,  I met with clients where more traditional psychotherapy was the main focus of treatment, albeit from a cognitive behavioral perspective that still incorporated in vivo work as warranted. 

In the Fall of 2007  to May of 2008 I interned at Carroll County Youth Services Bureau.  This was an exciting career development move, which resulted in the addition of many new skills to offer my younger clients at ASDI.  In the process I discovered that working with children and families can be both incredibly rewarding and extremely challenging.  I grew to care very deeply for all the children and teens I had the privilege to work with, and it was very hard to refer or finish up with those who were still receiving therapy when the internship finished.  

I also discovered in the process of working at CCYSB that I really like working with married couples, and am seriously contemplating looking for post-graduate training in marital and family counseling at some point in the future.

Theoretically I am  interested in the integration of clinical counseling skills from a pastoral perspective, which is why I chose Loyola’s Pastoral Counseling program.  Loyola teaches its’ students how to integrate the two in a way that is respectful of where the client is at spiritually, without judgment.  I firmly believe in a holistic approach to therapy — hence my interest in interning at CCYSB, which utilizes a family systems approach to therapy.  However, to be truly holistic, I believe we as counselors also need to recognize the importance of spirituality/religion in the lives of many clients — something that is severely lacking in the training programs of many otherwise very good counselor training programs.  All quality training programs stress the importance of respect for cultural diversity in our clients, but few programs recognize that spirituality (arguably another form of diversity) is often a very important component in the lives of a significant proportion of clients.  In my work in the past I have always respected the faith traditions of my clients, and have already seen how incorporating their religious/spiritual worldview into the treatment process can, at times, be extremely beneficial for them.

In the more than 30 years that I have been a practicing Christian, I have witnessed the distrust and fear that many Christians, Jews, and Muslims have toward those who practice in the mental health field.  There has traditionally been a perception (unfortunately sometimes true) that mental health workers will not respect the faith traditions of those who have strong spiritual connections to a particular religious paradigm, and my prayer is that I can become a bridge between these two sometimes opposing worldviews. 

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