About
Julia Forehand, NCC, LCMHCS
Contract Therapist
I have worked in many different settings in the mental health field- public school systems, community college counseling centers, Americorps, Managed Care Organizations, Clinical Counseling Graduate Schools and in the private practice sector. Throughout my career, I have noticed that when someone is truly happy, they have worked through and accepted life experiences, both positive and negative.
Life is messy and we all have experienced situations, humiliations, bullying, or even some type of trauma that has shaped how we think about and view the world. I have noticed in my practice that even our marriages suffer when a spouse/partner has not worked through experiences that may have traumatized them. It could be their family of origin, trauma from another relationship, sexual trauma, car accidents, etc. I have become very interested in helping my clients overcome what life has brought to them so that their lives, marriages and other relationships can be better.
I mostly work with adults and couples. I have been trained to use a variety of techniques in the clinical setting- DBT, EFT, CBT, TF- CPT, biofeedback, and EMDR. I have also been trained by the Gottman Institute to work with marriages. My focus at this point in my career is trauma and how treated trauma can positively influence the marriage and other aspects of a client’s life.
The World Health Organization and other professional organizations only identify two evidence based modalities of therapy to work with trauma. One is Trauma Focused- Cognitive Processing Therapy and the other is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). I have been trained in both modalities. I am a trained EMDR therapist by the EMDR Institute, Inc., founded by Dr. Francine Shapiro. I am currently on track to become a certified EMDR therapist by EMDRIA, the EMDR International Association.
Experience
Therapist’s Qualifications and Clinical Background
I earned Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at East Carolina University (ECU) and a Master of Science in Counselor Education in 2004 at ECU. I am a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Supervisor, National Certified Counselor, and Licensed School Counselor.
I worked as a school counselor in the North Carolina Public School Systems for 10 years. Afterward, I worked at the Managed Care Organization, Trillium Health Resources, for several years. During my time working with the state, I worked with clinicians who taught me how to navigate the state’s mental health system to benefit my clients.
I started in the private sector of mental health after my career with the state. I have enjoyed learning under great trainers and the founders of different theories we use in the clinical setting. Currently, I see clients in the office and virtually. In addition, I am an Adjunct Faculty member at a university teaching in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Graduate School. Finally, I am a LCMHCS, which means that I am supervising therapists who want to become fully licensed in the counseling field.
