Samuel Bethel

Hello! My name is Sam and I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with several years of experience helping people solve life’s challenges. A lot of my experience has been providing counseling services for common mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and adjustment to life changes. I invite anyone who thinks we would be a good therapeutic match to contact me to begin counseling. I am licensed to practice clinical social work in the states of Missouri and South Carolina. Research has repeatedly shown that the strongest predictor to positive outcomes in psychotherapy is the quality of relationship between a therapist and a client, so I strive to create strong, positive therapeutic relationships. At every encounter, I work to create a safe space for my clients so that they feel comfortable discussing anything without fear of judgement or shame. My counseling style is characterized by warmth, respect, and collaboration. Everyone needs something a little different from a therapist and even the same person might need something different from their therapist as therapy progresses over time. Because of this, I actively seek out feedback from clients and adjust my counseling approach to best meet their needs. In terms of specific psychotherapies I use in my practice, I frequently use Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Motivational Interviewing (MI). These are among the most well-researched psychotherapies that have been found to be effective for the greatest number of mental health issues. For a little more information about me, I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and psychology from the University of Kentucky in 2010. During my bachelor’s education, I became very interested in how a person’s social environment contributes to their health, mental health, and overall wellbeing. Because of my interest in the social context and my desire to work directly with people to help them solve problems, I decided to pursue a graduate degree in social work and in 2013 I graduated from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. Currently, I am working on completing a PhD in social work at the University of South Carolina. My doctoral studies are centered around investigating social work practice on integrated health care teams, specifically how professional social workers can work alongside physicians, nurses, and other other health care professionals to deliver mental health and social needs care services to patients and families to improve both the delivery of health care services and health care outcomes.