Wendy Van Keulen LCSW
Wendy for more than 20 years has provided counseling services in Spanish and with other diverse populations. She has a BA from St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN and an MSW from Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois Chicago. She has advocated for Latino immigrants, provided counseling and after-school programming to Latino youth in underserved communities, and interpreted for Spanish-speaking families facing crisis situations in medical, court and human services settings. She has worked with youth struggling with depression, anxiety and other mental health issues. Wendy brings experience in community mental health clinics, substance abuse outpatient treatment centers, domestic violence/homelessness programs, and nursing home care. As a therapist for adults, couples and families, she helps them overcome challenges with anxiety, depression, life stressors and trauma. She utilizes Thera-play training with children and Gottman assessment tools in her work with couples. Effective counseling is a team effort, Wendy believes, best focused on the expertise clients already have about their own lives. Goal-setting is essential, and should be practical — not overwhelming. Thoughts are powerful things, and can sway emotions and behavior, so cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness techniques can be helpful. Trauma-informed care can guide therapy for those grieving a loved one’s loss, childhood trauma, or other life transitions.
She believes everyone goes through challenges in life that can be overwhelming at times. Sometimes one can't do everything on their own or with the help of friends and family and need the advice of a professional for their mental health needs. It can be scary and one may feel vulnerable reaching out to a therapist. She is here to listen and support her clients with her clinical expertise and through her own life experiences. She would like those who are seeking help to take the step to feeling better and having control over their future self and to reach out to her at Counseling Speaks.
Wendy is an effective, patient and engaging listener. She is open to learning from others as they share with her about their unique struggles, but is also here to help her patients see their struggles with a different lens. She offers people strategies and techniques to make changes that they feel comfortable with as well as setting goals together. Which include ideas that range from challenging thoughts, healthy coping skills, scripts, journals, art, movement and play work for one to try as experiments to make improvements in their emotional health. . She has over 20 years of experience working with the Latino community. She is fluent is reading, writing and speaking Spanish. She understands the struggles and variety of cultures in the Latino community. She is here to listen, offer ideas and help you on your way to your emotional well-being.
Her ideal client would be working with families in distress that have already be impacted by previous trauma in their lives. She is competent at providing a safe space to share about past or recent traumas so that families - both parents and children - can become more at peace with themselves, with one another and with their community. She works as a guide in educating families on managing stressors, changing unhealthy habits, connecting with one another and finding joy in their current situation. Wendy holds a directive view on children wanting to feel supported, loved and so that they can use their skills. Parents want to feel confident they are doing the best they can for their family's emotional health. She assist families in achieving this goal and believes it helps in the long run for children to grow into well-rounded adults which equals less problems related to mental health in our global community.
Sessions Types - Individuals, Couples, Family
Specialization - Child or Adolescent, Trauma and PTSD, Mental Health
Exceptional Knowledge in - Bisexual Allied, Cancer, Gay Allied, Lesbian Allied, Racial Justice Allied, Transgender Allied, Vegan Allied,
Immigrant issues and working with Latinix population
Currently Works with - Toddlers / Preschoolers (0 to 6), Children (6 to 10), Preteens / Tweens (11 to 13), Adolescents / Teenagers (14 to 19), Adults, Elders (65+)
Previous Background - Attachment-based, Cognitive Behavioral (CBT), Compassion Focused, Culturally Sensitive, Eclectic, Family Systems, Humanistic, Interpersonal Family Systems (IFS), Interpersonal, Intervention, Mindfulness-Based (MBCT), Motivational Interviewing, Multicultural, Narrative, Person-Centered, Play Therapy, Relational, Solution Focused Brief (SFBT), Strength-Based, Structural Family Therapy, Trauma Focused
Previous Experience - Addiction, ADHD, Adoption, Alcohol Use, Alzheimer's, Anger Management, Anxiety, Behavioral Issues, Bipolar Disorder, Borderline Personality, Child or Adolescent, Chronic Illness, Chronic Impulsivity, Chronic Pain, Codependency, Coping Skills, Depression, Divorce, Domestic Abuse, Dual Diagnosis, Eating Disorders, Emotional Disturbance, Family Conflict, Grief, Hoarding, Infertility, Infidelity, Internet Addiction, Life Coaching, Life Transitions, Marital and Premarital, Obsessive-Compulsive (OCD), Oppositional Defiance, Parenting, Peer Relationships, Pregnancy, Prenatal, Postpartum, Racial Identity, Relationship Issues, School Issues, Self-Harming, Self Esteem, Sexual Abuse, Sleep or Insomnia, Spirituality, Stress, Substance Use, Suicidal Ideation, Teen Violence, Transgender, Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury, Video Game Addiction, Weight Loss, Women's Issues