Counseling

Join Our Team!

We are hiring NC Licensed Therapists/Counselors

Join our team and be a part of what the Lord is doing at Anchored Hope Counseling! Anchored Hope Counseling, PLLC is expanding our practice located in Kannapolis, NC. Serving individuals ( of all ages), couples, and families, we are seeking a part-time or full-time contractor therapist (for virtual and in-person) with experience and specialty in any of the following areas: children, adolescents, adults, couples, or trauma. This position offers great flexibility of hours!

 Join us for a work experience that is life-giving as you serve alongside a professional staff who are passionate about Jesus, people, and Christian mental health care.  At Anchored Hope Counseling, we desire our work to have eternal significance and influence.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Provide expert care to each client showing compassion in all encounters.
• Respond to all potential and existing clients promptly; conduct complimentary 15-minute phone consultations to determine client needs.
• Conduct thorough intake assessment, develop and update treatment plans. · Document case sessions and other communications promptly in the EHR system
• Maintain professional conduct within the community and on social media.
• Maintain ethical standards defined by the American Counseling Association and the American Association of Christian Counselors.
• Maintain licensing in good standing

Qualifications:

• Applicants must be fully or provisionally licensed in the state of North Carolina, and have experience providing counseling to children, teens, couples and individuals.
• Must have desire/experience integrating Christian counseling in alignment with organization values.
• Experience working with children and couples desired but not necessary
• If needed, on-site supervision is provided for LCMHCAs.

Please, send your resume and cover letter to Stevi Reed, LCMHC, QS, NCC at stevi@anchored-hope.com

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Sparking Intimacy for Couples

Date Night Ideas in CLT

February 1, 2024 by Meghan Ray

As Valentine’s Day approaches, there is no better time to go out on a date night. Expert’s say that couples, no matter the stage of their relationship, should date at least every 10-14 days. Take a look at this list of ideas for all budgets to see how you can rekindle the intimacy or spice up the routine! 

Low Budget Couples

1. Get Outdoors: Pack a lunch or afternoon snack and explore the great outdoors! 
   • Location: Crowder’s Mountain in Kings Mountain, NC
   • Cost: Free! 
   • Location: UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens in Charlotte, NC
   • Cost: Free!
2. See Whose More Competitive: Head on up to Concord and play classic board games with your date! Food and drink is available for purchase at their attached cafe.
   • Location: Luck Factory Games in Concord, NC
   • Cost: $8-10 per person
   • Website: https://luckfactorygames.com/about/3-steps-to-get-your-game-on/ 

3. Take a Swing at Something New: Whether you call it putt putt or mini golf – take a night to see who can stay closest to par at this adults only indoor course. 
   • Location: Puttary in Charlotte, NC
   • Cost: $22 per person 
   • Website: https://www.puttery.com/locations/charlotte/ 

Medium Budget Couples

1. What’s Duck Pin Bowling?!: Take on this spin of classic bowling and see who comes out on top! When you are done check out their variety of board games while you sip one of their self pour brews. Food served onsite. 
   • Location: Pinhouse in Charlotte, NC
   • Cost: $20 per hour 
   • Website: https://pinhouseclt.com/ 
2. Become a Chemist: Spend some quality couples time mixing together your own personal scent while you make your own candles. 
   • Location: Paddywax in Charlotte, NC
   • Cost: $45 per person 
   • Website: https://thecandlebar.co/products/candle-pouring-charlotte
3. Show Some Charlotte Spirit: Put on your red and black and head down to a Charlotte Checkers game at Bojangles Coliseum. 
   • Location: Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, NC
   • Cost: $25-$55 per person
   • Dates of Home Games: 2/2, 2/3, 2/17, 2/18, 2/24, & 2/25
   • Website: https://charlottecheckers.com/schedule/schedule 
4. Raffaldini Vineyard Wine Tour: Step into Tuscany for the day when you take a tour and wine tasting at Charlotte’s local winery. 
   • Location: Raffaldini Vineyard in Ronda, NC
   • Cost: $30 per person
   • Website: https://www.raffaldini.com/Visit/Information 

High End Budget Couples

1. Skate and Date: Spend your Valentine’s Day with a little physical activity followed by a 3 course tasting menu. Vegan and Gluten free options available! 
   • Location: US White Water Center in Charlotte, NC
   • Cost: $65 per person 
   • Date of Interest: February 14
   • Website: https://center.whitewater.org/dining/skate-and-date/ 
2. Spice Things Up in the Kitchen: Want to learn some new cooking or baking skills? Fling some batter at your love while you whisk up a variety of new recipes! 
   • Location: Chef Alyssa’s Kitchen in Charlotte, NC
   • Cost: $75-$85 per person 
   • Variety of classes offered all month long! 
   • Website: https://chefalyssaskitchen.com/classes/ 
3. Travel to a Galaxy Far Far Away: For all the Star Trek and Star Wars couples out there this one’s for you! A four course food and spirit tasting menu at one of Charlotte’s most exclusive speakeasy. Tickets only available by reservation Thursday – Sunday. 
   • Location: Supperland Speakeasy in Charlotte, NC
   • Cost: $160
   • Dates of Interest: February 1 – March 16
   • Website: https://supper.land/supperland-speakeasy/ 

Experiencing some relationship or marital difficulty? Need someone to help rekindle the flame? If so, turn to Anchored Hope Counseling in Kannapolis, NC. Anchored Hope Counseling provides a wide range of therapy services from couples counseling to personal one-on-one sessions. View a list of our offerings online, or schedule a consultation today. If you liked these tips remember to subscribe  to our weekly blog for more news and insights.

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Shining a Light on the Broken Past

Thanks to the Goonies and Indiana Jones, my husband and I love to explore old abandoned places; anything from ancient ruins and castles to abandoned farm houses lost in woods of North Carolina. To us, if it is old, dirty, and a little dangerous, we are going in to explore it. To some, we seem adventurous and to many, we seem a little crazy…”Why would anyone risk their life just to walk through an old abandoned building?” those people tend to ask.

Usually, when people ask me that question I respond with a smile and say we are treasure hunters or that we should have been archeologists. However, lately (after watching many episodes of Expedition Unknown—thank you Discovery+), I have realized that there is more beauty in our hobby than I ever realized.

Lately, I have reminisced about the many times we crawled through dark, abandoned doorways, past spiders and other critters I try not to think about. Each time, we would pull out our flashlights and shine a light on the forgotten past of this once thriving structure. Usually, our goal is to look past the mess, slime and critters to uncover a treasure left behind or clues and a connection to a long-lost life. 

Through my reminiscing, I was reminded about shame and how devastating it can be on our life. Shame is like the rust, dirt, or vines that can eat at on old building; causing it to slowly crumble away. We may try to bury it and abandon it, but usually the mess begins to rot the structure until it is so damaged that it is uninhabitable. As it begins to collapse or fall away, it becomes unrecognizable and the things that remained inside become lost.

As hard as we may try to bury our shame and keep it from the light, somehow it always seems to creep its way out of the cracks and the light exposes it. Other times, it stays hidden until someone who is too curious (or cares, however you want to look at it) trespasses into our lives and shines a bright flashlight directly on our shame, guilt, or sin.

Shining a light on shame is hard. You see the rot, the mess, and the destruction. The damage can be scary and even a little dangerous to those who discover it. However, if you persevere through the darkness, and shine light on all the corners, you may discover the connection to the past that you once lost and longed for. You may find the hidden treasure in the room or realize that what was in the dark isn’t as scary as you once thought. Hopefully, after time exploring in the light, you find that the healing power of the light is better than letting everything fall away in the darkness.

The great thing about explorers and archeologists, is that when they find an abandoned structure, they see beauty and want to reveal its history to the world. They clear away the mess and begin to rebuild the structure back to its former glory. Amazingly, they don’t just tear it down and start fresh. They use what is there and preserve it. They clean and fix it. They restore it and make it stronger. In the end, it is just as beautiful as it once was, stronger, and more cherished.

If you have a secret shame that has been destroying you from the inside out, I want to encourage you to seek the light, find your connection to the past, clear away the mess, and find healing and restoration. Please know that I understand that this process is hard, but there is good news, you don’t have to do it alone! At Anchored Hope Counseling, I can help you explore the shame, find the light you need, and help you restore yourself to what you always wanted to be.

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The Importance of Gratitude for a Hope-Filled Marriage

Do you feel like your home is full of constant nagging? Do you work hard but you feel your spouse doesn’t appreciate you or acknowledge anything you do for the relationship? Do you just feel alone in your marriage and your spouse doesn’t seem to want to make any effort? Maybe you feel that there is just no more hope left for the two of you.

As we get comfortable in our relationships and establish a routine, it is common for couples to start taking each other for granted. Often, it is the small gestures of daily life that maintains a connection between a couple. If your acts of kindness each day are looked at as “duties” and become expected, then your relationship will start to suffer.

However, there is hope! Expressing gratitude to your spouse can lead to a longer lasting and more committed relationship. Gratitude demonstrates your appreciation for your partner and fulfills their need to be needed.  By accomplishing this, gratitude generates more connectedness, happiness, and satisfaction for both of you. Often, when you show gratitude toward your spouse, you also increase the chances that they will act warm and loving toward you. Furthermore, when you feel grateful for your partner, you are more likely to increase your loving behaviors toward them and to value your relationship.

It is important to remember that you need to show gratitude by appreciating who your spouse is as a person, not just for what they do.  For example, you can be grateful that your spouse took your kids to school and packed their lunch—and appreciate their thoughtfulness in noticing how busy you were. Ultimately, when you become more aware of the positive things your spouse does, you will naturally increase your gratitude for them.

3 ways you can increase gratitude (and hope) in your marriage:

•Show your spouse that you are thinking of them: a text, a short email, or a handwritten note.

•Compliment your partner for a trait that you appreciate and find attractive, lovable, or admirable.

•Do something thoughtful and unexpected for your spouse. Don’t wait for your anniversary or until your spouse does something first. Find a genuine way to do something special. It can be as small as breaking the routine by taking on a chore or task that is usually your partner’s responsibility.

Note: If you still feel that there is just no hope for your marriage and the hurt is too deep to restore the relationship through gratitude, reach out to Anchored Hope Counseling today. At Anchored Hope, I can help you restore gratitude in your relationship and rebuild your marriage through personalized techniques.

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Looking for a Treasure When You Feel Defeated

For over a year now, my husband and I have been working on completely refurbishing a 100 year old mill house. We have been doing most of the work ourselves and expected the project to be done within 8 months. However, the process has been much longer than we expected and there are days when we want to give up in defeat.

The moments of “what did we get ourselves into” started early in the process and almost every day it felt like we will never get to move into our new home. Each time we walk in, the feeling of being overwhelmed and defeated would crash into us.

To keep from losing our sanity and giving up, we had to develop a strategy to fight discouragement and defeat. This strategy came into play during the first weeks of the remodel process…”demo day” (which was not as fun as Chip Gaines makes it seem since it really lasted more than a week).

 For us, Labor day weekend 2019 was spent in a 100 year old abandoned house, tearing down walls, ceilings, and ripping up pea green shag carpet in 100 degree heat. Covered in dust, soot, and sweat, I said to my husband, “It would be amazing if we found a treasure in the wall. It would make all of this worth it.” Just then, as I pulled the drywall down, I found a tiny wood cross in between the 100 year old beams. While to some this would be worthless, it was a reminder to me as a Christian of the greatest treasure I will ever receive–God’s love and grace.

With that tiny cross, God reminded me that His love can help me overcome any obstacle I may face. With that reminder, that tiny cross gave me a restored hope and the ability to keep moving forward. As I looked at that little cross in my hand, I realized that if all we see is what is against us, then we will remain in a prison of discouragement and defeat. However, when we seek the treasure hidden in our suffering, we break free from defeat and can find hope in a better tomorrow

So now, whenever I feel discouraged, weary, or overwhelmed, I try to remember the cross, my personal anchor of hope.

If you are in a storm of defeat, I want to challenge you to look for the small treasure in the storm; something positive to anchor your hope to. By doing that, you may find the strength you need to carry on.

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Here is my treasure, the little white cross found in the mess of defeat.

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Welcome

Welcome to the Anchored Hope Counseling! Life can be full of joy, but sometimes we still experience pain, suffering, and hardship. It is during this trials of hardships that people seek help, advice, or something to anchor their hope to. I started Anchored Hope Counseling because I know how counseling can help during the storms of life and can be the anchor of hope that so many people need.

However, talking to someone about your feelings and problems can be challenging. Many people fear that they will be judged, don’t truly understand how counseling works, and believe that counseling is just for “crazy” people–and they definitely do not want to be labeled as crazy! My goal with this blog is to explain how counseling works, how it helps, and give tips and advice on mental health. Hopefully, by the end of the day, the stigma of counseling will start to disappear and when someone is looking for hope, they will not let the fear of change or counseling keep them from finding the help and hope that they need.

For the first post, I want to explain what counseling is and what it looks like for me. To me, counseling is a powerful asset to help you navigate difficult situations and hardships in order to reach healing and growth. The best part is, you do not have to walk through it alone. I can help you to understand your situation, cope and move through productively. Counseling provides a therapeutic relationship where you can explore issues, find ways to remove obstacles, and make healthy decisions that can lead towards personal growth and healing. It provides you with an opportunity to learn new ways of thinking and behaving that help restore balance in your life. The ultimate goal of counseling is to provide the platform to grow physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

My personal counseling philosophy is summarized in the name “Anchored Hope.” Ultimately, I believe the name Anchored Hope is reflection of what I want to convey to clients and the community, and that is HOPE. The name Anchored Hope was inspired by the following scripture:

Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters into that within the veil; Hebrews 6:19

This verse teaches that our hope for healing can be steadfast and anchors us. With this type of hope, we may not always see how the healing will come, but we know that it will come through our eyes of faith. To me, counseling is a way to direct people to hope so that they can experience joy and wholeness.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about Anchored Hope. I consider it a sincere privilege and honor that you have taken the time to read my blog.  Check back every now and then for new content to get updates.

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