Benta Sims, LPC

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I am a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), licensed by the Virginia Board of Counseling, and my private practice is located in Falls Church, VA.  I received my MA in Counseling Education from Virginia Tech.  My personal journey with postpartum depression and anxiety and recovery led me to change careers to become a counselor.  With my many life roles of wife, daughter, sister, friend, and mother of 3 young adult children, I combine my own personal life experiences with my professional work and training experiences, to bring an optimistic, hopeful, collaborative, non-pathologizing, and respectful approach to working with my clients. I enjoy growing and learning through working with my clients; I am honored to listen to each of their amazing stories.

Clinical Experience and Therapeutic Approach
My clinical experience includes working in a variety of settings. Prior to establishing my own private practice, I worked as an elementary school counselor in Fairfax County and worked as a Counselor-in-Residence at The Center for Well Being (now Sunstone Counseling) in Falls Church, VA. I have worked part-time as a Mental Health Therapist on the psychiatric floors of Inova Mt. Vernon and Inova Fairfax Hospitals.
 
For eleven years I led support groups for mothers experiencing pregnancy and postpartum mood and anxiety disorders (postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, postpartum OCD), and birth trauma. When working with pregnant and postpartum clients, I will make home visits for clients on bed rest or otherwise housebound. I offer trainings to professionals about recognizing and treating perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. 
 
I enjoy working with adult individuals and couples. While listening to clients’ stories, I encourage them to discover and build on their strengths.  When working with clients, I use a range of techniques and treatment methods, based within a theoretical orientation of cognitive-behavioral, and mind/body techniques, depending on the unique needs of the client.  I bring an interactive, hands-on approach individually tailored to help each client attain the personal growth that they would like to achieve, using a range of techniques, therapies, and treatment methods.  I have participated in a number of trauma-informed therapist trainings, and I am completing my EMDR certification.  I meet each client where she or he is, and help each to attain the personal growth that they desire.
 
When working with couples, I draw from trainings I received in Emotion Focused Couples Therapy, Gottman couples therapy, and I am a Certified Imago Relationship Couples Therapist.
Professional Memberships and Affiliations
  • American Counseling Association (ACA)
  • Northern Virginia Licensed Professional Counselors (NVLPC)
  • Postpartum Support Virginia (PSVa)
  • Postpartum Support International (PSI)
  • Resolve (The National Infertility Association)
  • American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM)
  • MAIT - Mid-Atlantic Imago Therapists

Professional Trainings Attended
  • EMDR Level I, EMDR of Greater Washington, DC, 2014
  • Trauma Level I and Level II Certificate Program, The Institute for Advanced Psychotherapy Training and Education, Inc. (Lisa Ferentz, LCSW), Fall 2012 and Fall 2013
  • Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders:  Components of Care (2-day Certificate from Postpartum Support International)
  • Post-Graduate Advanced Clinical Training on Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders – with Karen Kleiman, LCSW
  • Certified Imago Couples Therapist

Education
  • MA in Counseling from Virginia Tech (2004)
  • BBA in Personnel Management from The George Washington University (1983)
And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. 
~Anais Nin
You cannot transmit wisdom and insight to another person. The seed is already there. A good teacher touches the seed, allowing it to wake up, to sprout, and to grow. ~Thich Nhat Hanh