Weatherly Verhelst
M.A., LLC
Weatherly Burkhead Verhelst counsels clients across the age range and health care needs. She specializes in Child and Adolescent Counseling, using play-centered techniques with children as young as three years old. She graduated from Oakland University with a Master of Arts in Counseling (Clinical Mental Health). Weatherly is a member of the American Counseling Association, Chi Sigma Iota (counseling student and professional honorary society), and the Michigan Mental Health Counselors Association.
Weatherly brings 27 years’ experience as a United Methodist Church pastoral leader, serving congregations in Flint, Ovid, Saginaw, Utica, and Troy, Michigan. She has participated in ecumenical and interfaith groups throughout her ministry. She is comfortable in integrating spiritual and faith-based practices within evidence-based treatment planning, following a client’s needs.
As the last sentence might suggest, Weatherly approaches each client from a Humanistic and Person-Centered orientation, believing that each client has unique needs and gifts to bring to the counseling process. She uses an integrative model, finding techniques and interventions from many treatment modalities to fit the client’s treatment goals and the client’s unique personality. She considers herself a guide and a midwife, helping a client to find his/her/their inner strengths and therapeutic answers as she and the client work together to achieve the client’s wellness goals.
Weatherly looks forward to working with clients in many ages and stages of life. She has a special interest in journeying with people who are experiencing life transitions, anxiety, depression, and the emotional and spiritual questions surrounding grief and loss.