Our therapists offer DBT / dialectical behavior therapy in Toledo, OH

I am a licensed independent social worker (LISW) with over 29 years of experience helping adults and adolescents navigate grief, trauma, mood disorders, relationship challenges, and ADHD. I have worked across diverse settings, including hospital-based psychiatry, counseling centers, grief programs, nonprofit leadership, foster care and adoption agencies, and homeless shelters. These experiences have shaped my compassionate, relational, and holistic approach to care.

I earned my master’s degree in social work from New York University. My clinical approach is collaborative, strengths-based, and evidence-informed, integrating methods such as EMDR, relational dialogue, and trauma-informed care. I also provide practical strategies to support individuals and couples managing ADHD, grief, and trauma-related challenges.

Healing happens most powerfully within authentic relationships. I offer a supportive space where you can feel fully seen, heard, and respected as we work together to understand challenges, reconnect with strengths, and move toward resilience and growth. You do not have to face life’s struggles alone, and I would be honored to support you on your journey.

I am a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor with over 12 years of experience supporting individuals through life’s most difficult challenges. I specialize in helping clients work through trauma, oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, anger, anxiety, depression, and borderline personality disorder. My goal is to create a therapeutic space where you feel seen, supported, and empowered to take meaningful steps toward healing and growth.

I earned my Master’s in Counseling and Human Development from Lindsey Wilson College. I’m trained in dialectical behavior therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and motivational interviewing. My approach is collaborative, flexible, and tailored to each person’s strengths, needs, and goals.

Building trust, fostering resilience, and supporting lasting change are at the heart of my work. I believe every individual has the capacity to heal and thrive, and my role is to guide that process with empathy, honesty, and respect. Together, we’ll create a path that aligns with your values and vision for your life.

I am a licensed independent social worker (LISW) with 18 years of experience supporting adolescents, adults, and older adults through life’s challenges. I work with individuals navigating life transitions, trauma, grief, relationship difficulties, and physical or mental health concerns. My goal is to create a supportive space where clients feel understood while working toward improved well-being and quality of life.

I earned my master's degree in social work from Cleveland State University. My approach is holistic and client-centered, recognizing the strong connection between mental and physical health. I focus on helping clients build practical skills, strengthen self-awareness, and develop tools that support personal growth and lasting change.

Starting therapy or beginning again with a new therapist can feel overwhelming. I strive to meet you exactly where you are, offering empathy, understanding, and a judgment-free environment where you can speak openly. We will identify your goals and work toward restoring balance, rebuilding what feels lost, and helping you move forward with confidence.

Gidget Rupert is an Independently Licensed Practical Clinical Counselor with over 13 years of experience working with clients. She enjoys assisting clients in meeting their goals for treatment. She has experience working with adults and teenagers. Gidget has specialized training in anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, ADHD, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and self-esteem disorders.

Gidget completed her Master’s in Clinical and Mental Health Counseling at Ashland Theological Seminary. Gidget utilizes multiple approaches to therapy to find what works best with each client. Some of these approaches include solution-focused therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and mindfulness.

Gidget prioritizes building trust, active listening, and understanding with her clients as she meets them where they are. Reach out today to schedule an appointment!

I am a licensed independent social worker (LISW) with 26 years of experience supporting children, adolescents, adults, and families. I specialize in anxiety, depression, trauma, stress, relationship concerns, family conflict, and healing from toxic or abusive relationships. I also have extensive experience providing counseling, crisis support, case management, and diagnostic assessment, including work within school-based settings. My approach is compassionate, trauma-informed, and focused on meaningful, lasting change.

I earned my master’s degree in social work from Cleveland State University. I take a person-centered, meet-you-where-you-are approach and tailor treatment to each client’s goals. I integrate cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, solution-focused strategies, motivational interviewing, and other evidence-based modalities as appropriate.

I strive to create a safe, supportive space where you feel truly seen and understood. You do not have to face life’s challenges alone. Together, we will work at a pace that feels right for you to build coping skills, deepen insight, and foster healing, resilience, and personal growth.

Nan Little is a Licensed Clinical Counselor with over 20 years of experience in the mental health field. She loves working with young adults, adults, and couples in untangling the challenges of living a rewarding life. Her specialties include working with depression, anxiety, grief and loss, complex trauma, dissociative disorders, eating disorders, boundaries, life transitions, and relationship issues.

Nan completed her Master of Science in Education, Community Counseling focus at Capital University. Nan's wealth of experience, coupled with her intuitive and curious nature, offers clients a unique opportunity for growth. She turns clients' insights and "a-ha" moments born of collaborative work into actionable, memorable behavioral and emotional changes.

Life is hard. Therapy can feel strange. We are all doing our best to figure it out. Let Nan help you untangle, move forward, and live (not just survive). You will definitely laugh, most likely cry, and feel really messy at points, and it is absolutely okay. If you would like to try and figure it out, reach out and get scheduled.

Winter is certified by the Ohio Counselor Social Worker and Marriage and Family Board as well as the Ohio Chemical Dependency Professional Board. She specializes in trauma and uses EMDR. Winter also specializes in depression, anxiety, addictions, life stressors, and relationship issues. Her goal is to help others see their full potential and help them heal from their barriers in life. 

Winter has a Master's Degree in Professional Counseling and has worked in the Mental Health field for 15+ years. She has worked in the mental health field for 15+ years and in a variety of clinical settings: case management for the chronic mental ill; working with the DD population, IOP groups, and drug/alcohol education. 

Melissa Elbert is a Licensed Independent Social Worker (LISW) with over seven years of experience working with clients in their communities as well as in office. She is passionate about assisting clients meet their goals for treatment. She has experience working with adults and couples. Melissa has post graduate training in CBT, DBT, anxiety disorders, trauma-informed care, ADHD, and CPT. Melissa specializes in trauma, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and substance use disorders including alcohol use and opioid use.

Melissa completed her MSSA at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University. Melissa utilizes multiple approaches to therapy in order to find the right fit for each individual client. Some of these approaches include CBT, DBT, CPT, and trauma-informed approaches.

Every person has their own special needs. Melissa is a client-centered therapist that will work with you and your goals to determine which approach best suits your needs. You are the most important person in each session. If you are ready to make a commitment to yourself for better mental health, schedule with her today!

MarLa Bell is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 20 years of experience working with individuals in various roles. She is passionate about improving the lives of individuals and communities by serving as an "interrupter" of systems and barriers to social health needs. MarLa's professional experience along with her mission to ensure others thrive has created a unique skillset. She is a mom of 2 with ample experience navigating life through adversity. MarLa specializes in leadership stress, trauma-informed care, major life transitions (i.e. military, college, and parenting), family conflict, daily stress, and mild depression.

MarLa completed her Master of Social Work (LISW) from Cleveland State University (Phi Alpha Honor Society). MarLa does not use a cookie-cutter treatment approach, and instead gets to know her clients and what works best for them. Some approaches she uses include mindfulness, solution-focused therapy, and motivational interviewing.

MarLa understands that the gaps between what we want our life to be and what it actually is can create anxiety, uncertainty, worry, stress, and depression. She wants to teach others to put more focus and energy toward what we have control over while giving less emotional energy to what we have minimal control over. She wants you to thrive!

Jen started out working with adjudicated youth in a day program, and then spent ten years working with both youth and adults in an outpatient mental health agency. During those ten years, Jen worked with people of many different ages, races, social groups, and gender identities. This experience was invaluable as she learned that everyone is different, has different needs, and has more potential than they may realize.

In addition to years of volunteering in her community since she was a teenager, Jen has a Bachelor of Psychology and a Master of Marriage and Family Counseling, both from Wright State University. Jen interned, worked, taught, and later managed at an agency that provided therapy, day programs, group therapy, case management, and substance use treatment for people of all ages.

Jen brings her years of experience and her education to the session to partner with her clients. While she is the professional in the session, she sees her client as the expert in their own life. Jen and her client work together to explore and identify the problem, what they want to do about it, and how to work toward that outcome. Some people come to therapy struggling with shame or embarrassment, and need to connect with their therapist before they can open up about the really hard stuff. Jen encourages her clients to set the pace, and empowers them to speak up if they need something different. Schedule your intake appointment to start your partnership.