My name is Patricia Howard. My friends and family call me “Ms. Pat”. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor and an Independent Licensed Practitioner. I have a private practice in Mena, Arkansas. I have been married for over 50 years and have 5 grandchildren and 3 great grands. Spending time with my family is what I like to do best. I have a specialization in Technology-Assisted Counseling. In Arkansas we are required to have this specialization in order to provide teletherapy services. I also have a certification in Animal Assisted Therapy. Dogs are a big part of my personal life, and in my practice, I use them to help people to feel calm and to reduce their anxiety and depression symptoms. I teach people how to “appropriately manipulate” to get their needs met. I help people to learn the difference between aggressive and assertive behaviors. I have been counseling for over 20 years. Counting my years of teaching and counseling, I have been helping children and their families solve problems for about 27 years. My counseling approach is “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy”, which means I help you to change any unhealthy, maladaptive thoughts to healthy rational thinking. I help people to understand that they have enough personal power, within themselves, to solve their own problems. They just need to believe in themselves and have faith that their decisions can and will work out in the end. I believe having faith in something outside of ourselves is essential for coping with life’s challenges. It makes no difference to me what religious beliefs you have, because to me all people have immense value. If you feel like you might benefit from counseling sessions with me, please check my schedule to see what days I have available for counseling and schedule a session so we can get started on helping you to feel much better.