Dr. Stephanie Ellis

Stephanie Ellis, Ph.D

Counseling Psychologist (TX 34722)

My Mission:

I believe, as Carl Rogers says, that we are each already in the process of becoming who we are. My mission is to co-create a space with you where you can freely get in touch with the real you, examining even the parts that are difficult or undesirable, and create a life and self that is authentic and valuable. I’ll meet you where you are and fully join you on the road to where you want to be.

My Focus:

I serve mostly adults and couples, although sometimes families and groups. I see clients for all sorts of concerns – anxiety, trauma, depression, loss, ad/hd, relationships, sex, identity, self-image, addiction, career, parenting, and more. I believe it’s critical that people who work in mental health take good care of themselves, so I especially enjoy working with therapists and counselors-in-training.  While every therapy experience is different, some of the most common benefits are deepening self-understanding, increasing the sense of power in your life, building on your personal strengths, developing new strategies for coping and problem solving, strengthening relationships, clarifying values, and finding meaning/purpose.

My Experience:

- Over 20 years working therapeutically with individuals, couples, families, and groups

- Over 9 years training counselors as a professor and clinical supervisor at Houston Baptist University

- Author of a therapy training text: Five Minutes a Day to an Upgraded Therapy Practice: Transtheoretical Tips for Making the Most of Each Session (Routledge, 2021)

- Creator of several client-oriented resources offered through Diligent Page Publications. These include guided journals for life transitions (Entering College, Parenthood, Retirement), a wellbeing work book based on Reversal Theory, and Half Price Therapy – a short primer for how to get the most out of therapy, especially if you’re paying out of pocket

- President of the Fort Bend Psychological Association

My Technique:

I’m trained in most of the research-supported therapies – cognitive behavioral, interpersonal, narrative, solution focused, family systems, motivational interviewing, acceptance and commitment, psychodynamic, Gestalt, and more, including some specific techniques like diagnostic assessment and hypnosis. Every client is unique, and deserves a tailored approach to counseling, so therapy with me is usually a blend of different kinds of therapies that we create together, based on your needs, values, and preferences. My favorite kind of work is deeply person-centered and experiential – that means that we build a relationship of trust and a space for exploring the authentic you, in the here-and-now, because you are a process, not a diagnosis.

About Me:

I am a native Houstonian and graduated from Texas A&M University. I live in the Houston area with my amazing husband of over twenty years and two unbelievably cool, wise daughters. In my free time, as nerdy as it sounds, I’m usually reading books by the founding fathers (and mothers!) of psychology and psychotherapy. I also love ballet, yoga, mindfulness, sci-fi, college football, and dressing up for Halloween.

Credentials:

Ph.D., Counseling Psychology, 2009, Louisiana Tech University

M.A., Counseling & Guidance, 2007;  Louisiana Tech University

Certified by American Society for Clinical Hypnosis

Gottman Couples’ Therapy Level I & II