Meet the Team: Rebecca Briggs, LMFT

Meet Rebecca, the newest member of the GTCW team! Rebecca works with a variety of ages and populations and has a passion for helping her clients navigate and grow through difficult life transitions. Learn more about Rebecca and her work here:

What ages do you work with?

Children ages 6+, pre-teens, teens, and adults

Who else do you enjoy and feel confident working with?

I truly enjoy working with youth, caregivers, and families. I recognize that interactions within the family unit impact each member of that family. I believe that supporting family members in better understanding one another and providing parenting tools will help to strengthen relationships within that family.

Rebecca's approaches and how she helps:

I believe therapy is not one size fits all. It should be flexible and adapt to the needs of each client. For that reason, I implement a multi-modal approach that addresses each client’s individual needs. I often integrate mindfulness interventions during sessions in order to help clients create a healthier relationship with their emotions. It’s important to embrace all of our emotions. Doing so is healthy and necessary, but it can also be very challenging. Because children are just learning to navigate the waters of their emotions, I use play therapy to walk with them through those difficult feelings. It’s crucial that children learn ways to cope and feel empowered. With adolescents, I like to use interactive activities and talk therapy to better understand their experience of their unique stage of life.

Family collaborative work to address emotional and behavioral issues in children is so important. I help parents and caregivers to better understand their child’s needs and work together with them to reinforce the strategies their child has learned in sessions. This team approach helps children to integrate tools and improve their experience in the world.

With adults, I provide space for clients to process emotions, gain self understanding, and cultivate self compassion. Together, we build upon strengths and develop tools to help clients navigate life’s most difficult obstacles.

My hope is that therapy will provide a place for clients to gain insight and develop tools to grow, heal, and realign with things that bring happiness, health, and fulfillment.

Core Modalities:

~Positive Psychology: strength focused to help to promote happiness and health -Mindfulness: self awareness, emotional regulation, and self compassion

~Play Therapy : process emotions, develop coping tools, and build social emotional skills

~Behavioral: tools to improve a child's behavior, self-control, and self-esteem

~CBT: challenging and changing unhelpful thinking patterns and beliefs

~TF-CBT: trauma informed CBT interventions for youth and their caregivers

~Motivational Interviewing: strengthening motivation and commitment toward goals

~LGBTQ+ Informed: affirming counseling and the use of WPATH standards of care

~Grief and Loss: addressing unique needs when moving through one’s grief journey

~Family Systems: addressing problems in the context of the family unit

-Gestalt: holistic focus on the here and now to build self awareness and acceptance

What can a client expect if they work with you?

Opening up to someone takes a lot of courage and I value the importance in maintaining a safe, empathetic space that allows each client to feel seen and heard without judgement. I provide therapy from a culturally sensitive framework and welcome all backgrounds, preferences, and identities. In the first few sessions, I will spend some time gathering information in order to better understand each client’s experiences and history.

I am interactive in therapy sessions, encouraging self exploration and awareness. I enjoy creatively integrating therapy interventions through thought or writing exercises as well as art. With children, sessions are fun and playful, using preferred activities and movement to build engagement. I invite children to show and teach their parents tools they learn in sessions since what we practice grows stronger!

In order to tailor treatment goals to each individual, I collaborate with clients (or clients and their families) to create a plan that builds upon resiliency, strengths, and wellness. Setting treatment goals helps keep the focus on what outcomes the client wishes to see. As we monitor progress toward those goals together, I encourage feedback to help clients get the most out of their therapy sessions.

What do you like about being a counselor?

I am honored to be in this profession and I do not take lightly the privilege of others allowing me to be a witness to their life. I’m am constantly inspired by my clients—their resilience and the way they transform insight into change.

If you could meet one author who would it be and why?

Autobiographies and memoirs have always fascinated me as they provide a glimpse into someone’s life. They often hold gems of wisdom or messages that tend to resonate with me in different ways. The Diary of Anne Frank was one of the most significant books I read as a child and it has continued to stick with me throughout my adulthood and career. Anne Frank was a young voice living with and reacting to the injustice taking place during the Holocaust while also somehow maintaining hope, courage, and optimism. As a therapist, I take her message to heart and I’m continually reminded that all voices deserve to be heard.

Unique & fun facts about Rebecca!

I love traveling! I’ve been to Ireland and kissed the Blarney Stone, snorkeled in Mexico, explored the ancient ruins in Greece, and walked the salt flats in Death Valley, CA. In Costa Rica, I watched baby sea turtles make their way to the ocean. Future travel plans include touring Europe and seeing the northern lights.

To schedule a free 10-minute phone consultation or an appointment with Rebecca, contact her at (512) 400-4247 or rebecca@georgetowncounselingwellness.com.