The Journey and The Process would like to introduce Victoria Ellis as part of our Wake Forest counseling team. Victoria is an INCREDIBLE therapist who is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Associate (LMFTA) in NC. Both adult and teen clients adore working with her. We thought we’d take a minute to let you get to know her. She might just be the counselor you or your teen have been looking for!
Why did you decide to become a therapist?
I am good at listening to pain without judgement. I am good at compassion. And my own pain has been refined into experience that I can use help others. I know how badly people need to be listened to, and I give that gift freely to my clients. I’m also very good at sorting giant messes into easy to handle laundry baskets. Being a therapist is where I can be on the front lines of giving people hope. I can be in the trenches with someone as they win their war. As they declare peace. It is the most satisfying job I can imagine.
What is your favorite thing about your work with clients?
I love hearing people’s stories. I love hearing their experiences. People learn a lot from their suffering. People learn lot from their joys. The most fascinating thing in the world to me is learning why a person thinks and acts the way they do. People are my favorite thing. I love it when the light comes in and clients begin to see the world differently – to see their own efforts and thoughts differently. I love the moment when hope comes to dwell. When clients realize that this thing that has been a cornerstone of life for so long – fear, depression, anxiety, anger, numbness, hatred, doubt – doesn’t have to be there. It is not the foundation of who they are. It’s a piece of broken furniture they can move out of the house. I love helping clients learn new coping skills. That they can “Marie Kondo” their old coping mechanisms and develop new, kinder, healthier ways of dealing with pain and trauma and find healing. I love the moment a pattern breaks, and people become free of the old habits that kept them trapped in unhealthy, devastating, and miserable roles. I love explaining how things work. I love that moment where the client realizes this big tangled web they’re caught in isn’t strange or unusual. That they are not weird for struggling. That what they are experiencing is something known and relatively understood, and that means they can get out of it.
What is something you wish people knew about counseling in Wake Forest?
What would you like to say to someone who isn’t sure whether counseling can help them?
There is a lot of freedom when you talk about life’s intimate pains and struggles with someone who will not judge you, and who you don’t see in a different context. With a therapist, you don’t need to make your pain soft like you have to with friends and family. You do not have to be polite and censor yourself so that other people don’t take your pain personally. Talking to a therapist can add clarity because they are not involved in the muck with you. They are there to help pull you out of it. They are not afraid of you. They won’t judge you for where you start out. They won’t judge you for when the mud seems easier and safer than solid ground. Therapists won’t walk in the room expecting to fix you. Instead, think of them like coaches and trainers who are helping you prepare for a boxing match against your fears, your insecurities, your painful relationships. We are here to each you how to defend yourself, how to roll with the punches, how to come back swinging, and how to finally be free. You can go through life without a therapist. But it is easy to injure yourself when you don’t have someone to check your injury or coach you how to throw the punch.
Share a fun fact about you:
I am a total nerd. I love and use all kinds of nerdy things in my counseling, including but certainly not limited to, Dungeons and Dragons, Lord of the Rings references, and Korean dramas. I’m a multicultural gal, with experience both in America and overseas, which has given me a cool perspective on the American idiosyncrasies that make it so fascinating! I also speak fluent Portuguese and offer counseling in both Portuguese and English.
Victoria is located in our Wake Forest counseling office and sees clients both in person and via secure, HIPAA-compliant video. Victoria has some evening and weekend hours as well for those who are negotiating work or school schedules. She specializes in working with teens, couples, and families who are struggling with relationships, anxiety, overcoming past or present traumatic experiences, or struggling with identity.
If Victoria sounds just like who you’ve been looking for in a counselor, reach out today at 919-891-0521 or click here to schedule your free, 15-minute consultation for counseling in Wake Forest, NC or online within NC. You will be so glad that you did!