I'm Shirlene Tonks

SUPERVISED MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST

“I want to hear your story. We will explore together, helping you find your best path forward”

I value helping couples, families and individuals feel more at ease, comfortable, and safe within their relationships. I validate client’s realities and emotional responses.

I see vulnerability as a strength. Together we identify attachment needs and strengths.

I help couples, parents, and individuals more comfortably embrace parenthood, the family attachment, the ability to accept their story and their best path forward.

I work collaboratively with clients helping to make sense of their life and relationship view within present challenges. I help create space to slow down and better understand a client's view of self, including both visible and invisible expectations.

We work together gaining a sense of self-acceptance, partner acceptance, working toward a sense of peace and improved safe connection.

Attachment Theory and Couple Therapy in Liberty, MO

I initially work to gain a comfortable therapeutic alliance with couples, providing space for each of you to be heard and to safely explore within sessions.

It’s your experience, I want to hear it, value it, and provide safety in making sense of what you feel (better identifying emotions) instead of "stuffing them down", ignoring them, judging yourself or each other.

I believe in the process of Emotionally Focused Therapy in Liberty, MO leaning into and exploring primary emotions to make sense of your interactional cycle.

After all, you can’t change something you don’t first understand. This leaning into your emotions creates an emotional shift, becoming more comfortable and braver within yourselves and within your relationship.

Emotionally Focused Therapy for Relationship Counseling

We then move into collaboratively identifying the negative interactional cycle within the couple relationship.

Couples begin to recognize this negative interactional cycle, naming it and recognizing more of their primary emotions. This alleviates some of the blaming behavior, instead gaining safety in recognizing one’s personal discomfort.

This leaning into emotions creates an emotional shift, becoming more comfortable and braver within oneself and within the relationship.

The Emotionally Focused Therapy process makes so much sense! This process reminds me to s-l-o-w down and create more space for each of you to sort out your view of self.

This simultaneously gives opportunity to better understand your partner’s view.

Emotionally Focused Therapy guides me in honoring each stage of your couple therapy process.

Using Emotionally Focused Family Therapy to Resolve Family Conflict

It can be heartbreaking to struggle with continual conflict with family members.

Whether it be with your children, your parents or with your adult children. The pain can sometimes be too much to bear.

The principles of Emotionally Focused Therapy also apply to family relationships.

We will work to first identify the negative patterns of interactions that lead to so much conflict and pain.

Then we will work to rebuild the bonds of your family so that all of you can start to enjoy spending time together again.

My Education:

• Bachelor of Science – Brigham Young University

• Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy ~ Northcentral University

More Details:

Rates:

• $90 to $125

Supervisor:

• Vivian Foley, MO #2015011708

Begin Counseling in Liberty, MO with Shirlene

You don’t have to live with mood struggles. Counseling can help you feel like you did in the before you started to struggle. Shirlene is available to help you get back on track with feeling happy and hopeful. To start your counseling journey, follow these simple steps:

1. Submit the form below

2. Meet with Shirlene

3. Start feeling like your old self again