Dorcas VanGilst

Dorcas VanGilst is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a Bachelor’s in Psychology and a Master’s in Science in Counseling Psychology. For many years her clients have primarily been individuals, groups, and families coming out of abusive and sometimes violent relationships and addiction. Although that was the original primary focus, most of them also struggled with other accompanying factors like depression, anxiety and other serious mental health diagnoses. Recently her clinical focus has shifted to more of a community-based population. She has found the work incredibly rewarding and enjoys working with additional needs such as grief, prenatal, postpartum depression, and abandonment trauma to name a few. Dorcas enjoys working with individuals suddenly coming out of relationships. Often these individuals may feel “abandoned” or even trigger past “Abandonment trauma”. This can come from family instability, separation, death, family substance abuse, emotional unavailability, childhood neglect, broken relationships/friendships, fear of loneliness, and others. If some of these points resonate with you, let Dorcas help you find and create healthy patterns and boundaries leading to more fulfilling relationships with others. Dorcas also finds meaningful work in pregnant and postpartum women. Whatever walk of motherhood you may be experiencing; Dorcas enjoys walking alongside mothers in their journey of joy, anxiety, loss, fear, traumatic experiences, grief, change, or whatever comes from the individuals experience. Finding support during this season of change is of great importance and necessary for healthy bonding and healing. Through her own birth experiences, daughters birth experiences, and labor coaching, Dorcas understands the different needs, emotions, and fears that can come from a new season. Dorcas is passionate about developing a strong rapport so that clients feel safe to transparent. She primarily uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to facilitate clients in meeting their goals and bringing about growth in the inner person which then begins to change in how they experience their daily circumstances. In her spare time, Dorcas loves spending time with her 3 children, 4 grandchildren, and her loving husband of 34 years. You may also find her reading, researching various topics, traveling, and playing the piano.