About Joyce Coleman

My goal is to provide a safe, supportive environment for individuals of all ages so they may learn how to manage events that are negatively impacting their lives, resolve conflict, and find peace and happiness. I am valued for my excellent listening skills and providing therapeutic interventions that enhances communication and creatively addresses the individual needs of children, adolescents, adults, and families.

My training includes three years of post-Master’s certification in individual, marriage and family therapy: one-year program at Washington University, St. Louis, MO and a two-year program through the Karl Menninger School of Psychiatry and Mental Health Services. I am a member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. I attend a monthly psychotherapy professional group for ongoing development of my professional skills.

My Professional Career

I have experienced a very rewarding career working with people of all ages and from various backgrounds. The common thread in all of my work has been the unlimited potential of individuals to grow, to change, and to find a world where they can experience hope and happiness.

My undergraduate work has been with families and young children. I have had the privilege of implementing one of the first birth to three programs for developmentally challenged children in the state of Illinois.

Family systems/struggles and the emotional needs of individuals continued to be the focus of my professional work after earning my master’s degree. I served on the first Interagency Coordinating Council and was selected as the Missouri Social Work representative for a state-wide multidisciplinary trainer of trainers model for First Steps Early Intervention Services. The commitment and determination of these families to secure services for their children was nothing less than impressive and the role of the family therapist was critical in managing the array of emotions they experienced

The next chapter in my career brought me to the health care arena at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. I learned first-hand the impact acute and chronic illness has on the patient and their families. Of my many responsibilities for providing emotional support to families I coordinated the Bereavement Program, which provided support, information, and presence to families having children lost to illness. I worked closely with the staff, many suffering from compassion fatigue, and conducted stress debriefings for critical incidents. I served on the hospital ethics committee responding to inquiries about medical, moral, and ethical concerns, including end-of life issues. I acted as a co-facilitator of Schwartz Center Rounds, a multidisciplinary forum for caregivers to discuss the difficult emotional and social issues that arise in caring for patients.

I completed three years of post masters certification in individual, marriage, and family therapy; one year at George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University and a two year program through the Karl Menninger School of Psychiatry and Mental Health Services. For the past twenty years I have maintained my practice and have received ongoing professional development addressing therapy practices including:

Bowen theory, Family Systems
Les Greenberg, Emotionally Focused Therapy
John Gottman, Couples Therapy
Brent Atkinson, Emotional Intelligence in Couples Therapy
Michael Yapko, Breaking the Patterns of Depression
Janis Abrahms Spring, Affairs and Forgiveness
Susan Johnson, Attachment Processes in Couple and Family Therapy
Daniel Wile, The Marriage Clinic
Stephen Rollnick, Motivational Interviewing
Frank Pittman, Infidelity and the Betrayal of Intimacy
Richard Schwartz, Internal Family Systems Therapy
Harville Hendrix, Imago Therapy