Mending Broken Hearts

Written by Lori Steindorf
Photos by Sarah Griffin

This time of year can be ferociously daunting for those of us who try, with painstaking detail, to manage our arduous daily lives, complete with financial woes, relationship difficulties and heavy workloads, while nurturing our families and keeping them safe. Try as we might, we tend to forget to keep the faith, express ourselves in a comforting, secure environment with professional guidance and breathe deeply in remembering that stressful situations generally work themselves out.

Emotionally and physically overwrought new moms contending with lack of sleep, post-partum depression and self-neglect, might be experiencing worries and fears that are crippling their well-being, while they are barely able to get out of bed each day. Teens contending with self-esteem issues and bullying and pre-schoolers suffering from abuse or abandonment may have no one to express their inner feelings to in getting to the heart of the matter that is causing them so much pain and agony. Women – and men – lacking the necessary coping skills to get through their chaotic lives, turn to substance abuse while internalizing detrimental stressors in their lives.

They’re left to painfully ponder how much more they can withstand before giving in to emotional outbursts that typically leave emotional scars on those they care deeply about. People who find themselves in these challenging situations might wonder where they should turn for help. What should they do? Central Texas Professional Counseling, with its experienced, well-qualified, highly trained professionals, offers a spectrum of mental health services that gives people of all ages, faiths and ethnicities fresh hope and solace in a world that can often be fraught with heartache and emotional turmoil. Each of the four counselors who comprise Central Texas Professional Counseling brings her unique talent, educational background, credentials and specialization to its operation. They offer counseling services in a cozy, welcoming and modest house conveniently located in the heart of New Braunfels on historic Comal Avenue. This understanding, knowledgeable and talented team of counselors has immense pride in providing specialized, confidential care for people with all kinds of therapeutic needs, say Liz Peitersen, MA, LPCI and Cheryl Duke, MA, NCC, LPCI. Peitersen and her colleague, Cheryl Duke, who are both deeply spiritual, firmly believe in the outstanding healing power of counseling. If you’re unable to overcome the seemingly insurmountable, inevitable obstacles and problems that come with divorce, raising a family or being a newlywed, the genteel and soft-spoken Duke is there for you with an open, non-judgmental presence offering her services with powerful, life-altering benefits.

Duke’s expertise focuses on individual, couple, relationship and family issues, as well as sexual, emotional and physical abuse victimization. She is a graduate of Texas State University with a bachelor’s degree in communication disorders and a master’s degree in professional counseling, specializing in couples and families. “I work with individuals as well. My specialization is couples and families and victims – sexual abuse victims. Liz specializes in adolescents – she’s great at it so she gets all the teens, and Jenny works with 3 to 12-year-olds in the playroom so she gets all the little ones,” Duke said. “So, I basically work with adults ages 18 and up.” At 26-years-old, Duke – herself a victim of childhood abuse – describes her livelihood as a “calling” and says her experience in coping with abuse inspired her to become a counselor.

 “I had been in counseling as a kid, so personal issues drew me to do counseling. My personal theory: I think every counselor has their own story and that creates their passion to get in this profession and pick their field, their specialty. I think we all have a story behind us,” said Duke, also a volunteer with Hope Hospice’s children’s grief program, a cause close to her heart. “I love volunteering over there! I get to see the kids over there at Hope Hospice and here it’s just adults so it’s still counseling but it’s a nice balance,” Duke said. “I’m helping run a camp over there twice a year, one for families, and one for just kids, so I get to work with all the aspects. It’s good stuff!” At 28-years-old, Peitersen, on the other hand, specializes in counseling adolescents and helping women suffering from post-partum depression mend their broken spirits – her mother was a victim of post-partum depression.

Peitersen also offers counseling services in the areas of depression and anxiety, trauma recovery, relationship issues, other mood disorders, grief and bereavement, career-related issues, parenting support and self-improvement plans. The vivacious and outspoken Peitersen earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Notre Dame and then her master’s degree in professional counseling at St. Edward’s University. “I specialize in working with adolescents – the adolescent issues such as eating disorders, social anxiety, issues surrounding divorce, and I also specialize in post-partum depression,” said Peitersen. Her life’s work is gratifying to her because of the number of people she assists in tackling loss and hardship. She says people frequently leave her office with a newfound happiness, fresh perspective and a determined attitude toward controlling their destinies.

“I love to help people. It’s so satisfying to me to connect with people who are hurting, providing that relief to their symptoms, empowering them to take control of their own lives and to change their lives. It’s extremely fulfilling to me. Counseling is a wonderfully healing thing. People come in here in search of help and in search of change, and that’s what we provide for them,” Peitersen said. Together, the two young women who have disarming smiles, cover-girl looks, finely tuned interpersonal skills and gentle, compassionate manners, work with Jenny Bauer, MA, NCC, LPCI, whose specialty is play therapy for children. Duke and Peitersen work under the supervision of Mee-Gaik Lim, Ph.D., LPC-S, LMFT-S, a woman they greatly admire for her insight into the full range of counseling services.

Duke and Peitersen together have gained invaluable experience that helps them in all facets of their lives, especially their professional roles, through working together with victims of crime and at-risk youth at Connections Individual and Family Services. By working side by side at Connections and Hope Hospice, supporting one another and bolstering each other’s morale, the two women became fast friends and realized they were kindred spirits who shared the same dream and aspirations. After their critical work in helping guide and counsel at-risk youth at Connections and working with the children’s grief program through Hope Hospice, they became aware that they wanted to go into practice together. The two family-oriented women credit their husbands for giving them a wealth of support and confidence in their abilities. “We’re both moms – that’s our No. 1 priority – but also we wanted to fulfill our dreams and our careers. We dreamt about a small house on Comal Avenue, so Cheryl found the space. And it’s really our dream to be able to raise our kids the way in which we see fit and fulfill our career goals,” Peitersen said.

“We’re also very business-minded. We’re therapists, but we also have to be businesswomen. We really do have a special connection, and a lot of people mistake us for sisters.” In the last year, they have tastefully renovated their comfortable office and opened their doors to people of all walks of life with heartache and emotional setbacks, explains Peitersen, who praises Comal County for its accessibility to mental healthcare resources. Peitersen, who is from New Braunfels, is also a vocal and hands-on proponent of The Gabriel Project that assists expectant and new mothers. She’s also worked with Hope Hospice in honing her grief and bereavement counseling skills. Dedicated to helping people secure self-fulfilling careers, she’s also worked with the Texas State University Career Services Department.

Peitersen and Duke, who is from Shiner, Texas, shy away from egotism and boasting about their lofty accomplishments. Instead, they say clients are their chief focus.

If they are unable to help him or her, then they are eager to point people in the right direction in discovering resources crucial to their emotional well-being, said Peitersen. She adds that faith-based counseling is also available to their clients.

Although Duke and Peitersen do not accept insurance for their services, they emphasize that they always try to accommodate people’s budgets. Central Texas Professional Counseling is located at 542 Comal Ave., and the Web site is www.texasprofessionalcounseling.com.