Present Hope Counseling
Present Hope Counseling
Katherine S. Arnold, MAMFC, LPC-S, LMFT-SC, CFRC
Admin@presenthopecounseling.com
Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Founder and Administrator
A Livingston Parish native , Katherine S. Arnold grew up on the outskirts of the Walker city limits. She attended Livingston Parish schools and graduated from Walker High School before attending Southeastern Louisiana University (SELU). Katherine achieved her Bachelors of Science in Chemistry from SELU in 1995. Katherine worked fourteen years in the pharmaceutical industry before changing careers. In the last decade of her first career, Katherine was responsible for managing a department of people from varying cultures, ages, and ethnicities. Through this, Katherine truly learned about herself and others. She learned that people are more than just productivity, more than a job, and more than the "mask" they wear in public. "mask" Katherine learned to value relationships, to honor the journey of others, and to sit in the sufferings with them.
Katherine achieved a Masters in Marriage and Family counseling from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) in 2013. She also achieved additional credits at NOBTS in the Doctoral program. Katherine began working as a counselor at the Eastern Louisiana Baptist Association (ELBA) Christian Counseling Center, a local non-profit organization, until launching Present Hope Counseling, LLC. Katherine is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Katherine has worked with children, adolescents, adults, couples, families, veterans, and first responders. She has been trained in specialty areas such as Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), Emotional-Focused Therapy for couples (EFT), Sand tray, Managing Suicide Risks (CAMS) and Trauma therapy. She has achieved a certification in helping First Responders. Katherine has also worked at the New Orleans Theological Seminary as an Adjunct Professor and Student Supervisor.
Katherine is a Christian but she honors and respects each person spiritual beliefs, values, and worldview without judgement. She does not impose her own religious beliefs onto her clients. Katherine seeks to utilize treatments that take into consideration each client's interests, cultural backgrounds, spiritual and religious views, and personal ideas. Katherine has a huge passion for others!
Melissa Carson, M.Ed, LPC, NCC
Melissa@presenthopecounseling.com
Licensed Professional CounselorCounselor
Melissa Carson is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) with the State of Louisiana. Melissa achieved a master's degree from Lamar University in the field of Clinical Mental Health Counselor and holds a Bachelor of Science in Family and Child Science from New Mexico State University.
Melissa has a decade of experience teaching children in an educational setting, and working with teens, college students, and families in ministry and through community work . She has experience working with individuals age 5-adult who deal with emotional dysregulation, anxiety, low self-esteem, identity development including gender questioning, life transitions, depression, and past trauma. She has a heart to see clients equipped to tackle the challenges of life and to live in an authentic, meaningful, and wholehearted way. She sees counseling as an avenue for individuals to process past events that are impacting their present life, develop self-awareness, and increase in skills that build resilience to find value and meaning for a greater sense of well-being.
Understanding that the approach in therapy should be unique to the needs of the client,
Melissa seeks to utilize treatments that take into consideration each client's interests, cultural backgrounds, religious views, and personal ideas. She draws on evidence based practices such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Solution Focused Brief Therapy, and Acceptance Commitment Therapy. Additionally, she has completed training in eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR) which is utilized in trauma recovery. Her goal is to create a safe environment which offers room to face challenges and find hope for the future. Outside of work Melissa loves to read, garden, bike with her children, and travel to new places.
Danielle Hatch, PLPC, CRP, CCLS
Danielle@presenthopecounseling.com
Provisional Licensed Professional Counselor
Danielle Hatch is a Provisional Licensed Professional Counselor (PLPC) with the State of Louisiana. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Child and Family Studies from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2007. She then became a Certified Child Life Specialist and continues to maintain this certification. She furthered her education in working with this population by obtaining her first master's degree in Child and Family Studies from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2013. After working on surgical, trauma, and burn units for 14 years at various children's hospitals with children and families experiencing life-altering illnesses, trauma, and grief, she felt led to help individuals experiencing these stressors within the community setting. With this, she decided to pursue her second master's degree in Clinical Mental Health from Liberty University, a degree that she earned in December of 2022.
Danielle's areas of focus include working with children, adolescents, adults, and families experiencing low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, trauma, and grief. In working through such issues, she believes in the power of building trusting and solid therapeutic relationships. Such relationships help clients feel less alone and help open the door to their journey of healing. In fact, within these relationships, clients can begin to tell their stories, feel heard, and start finding hope amidst their struggles. She believes in helping clients carry their burdens and holding onto their hope until they are able to do so themselves.
Danielle has a particular passion for working with individuals experiencing grief, which is strongly derived from professional and personal experiences. As a Certified Grief Informed Professional, she continues researching and expanding her knowledge base to better serve and help this population navigate the grieving process.
Understanding that the approach to therapy should be unique to the client's individual needs, Danielle utilizes treatments that consider each client's interests, cultural background, religious views, and personal ideas. She has experience in using Person-Centered Therapy (PCT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), and Narrative therapy.
Danielle is a Christian and believes that hope, faith, and suffering can coexist. However, she always honors and respects each person's spiritual beliefs, values, and worldviews without judgment. She does not impose her own religious beliefs onto her clients.