My name is James "Jamie" Carroll. This most important thing to me right now is my grandson and spending time with him.  He is almost four years old and faced many medical obstacles at his birth and the months following.  Now, his medical issues are managed and he is such a "big boy." We like spending time outside, swimming, going to parks, reading books, baking cakes, finger painting, riding his scooter and his bike, and playing with toys.

 

I grew up in a small, rural community in Central Illinois called Nokomis (supposedly named after an Indian princess). I went into the Army right after high school. I never intended to become a counselor. Toward the end of my enlistment with the Army, I had decided that I wanted to be an airplane pilot. As I researched the requirements to be a pilot, I found out that most commercial airlines wanted you to have a degree as well as a pilot license. I then enrolled in college at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. My father wanted me to major in electrical engineering. However, I thought psychology and philosophy would be more interesting.

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Once I started studying psychology, I was very interested in the way people think. However, once I got my BA degree, I realized there were not that many employment opportunities for me. I got a job as a Resident Counselor at Youth in Need. Here I worked with teenage girls who were in the care of the state. All had been abused and/or neglected. I soon discovered that in order to be a counselor, I needed to get a graduate degree. During this time, I enrolled in the graduate counseling program at Lindenwood University. I then got a job working as a Youth Specialist with the Division of Youth Services. Here I worked with adolescent boys who had been convicted crimes in the juvenile court.

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I then obtained my MA in Professional Counseling. After graduation, I thought if there was anytime to do something crazy it would be now. So I quit my job as a Youth Specialist and moved to Florida. It was in Florida that I obtained my first job as a counselor. I became a substance abuse counselor. I worked about 3 years dealing with adolescents and adults with substance abuse issues.

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I then moved back to Missouri at got a job as a case manager with BJC. I worked adults with severe mental illness. Additionally, during this time, I adopted my son from the foster care system. As with most children adopted from the foster care system, my son had some challenges---mainly managing his emotions, issues with his memory due to in utero substance exposure, and language issues.  I remember being embarrassed by his behaviors---more focused on how I looked as a parent (after all, I was/am a counselor and should know what to do), than really tending to him and supporting him when he was having challenging moments.

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I had a profound moment with him, when he was in elementary school, that really changed how I viewed him and our relationship towards the end of his elementary school.  It was at night and I had decided to go to bed.  I sat the alarm, but forgot to turn off the motion detector. My son was in our den watching television.  About 30 minutes after going to bed, I was woken up by the sound of the alarm---my son was walking to his bedroom and set off the alarm.  He immediately ran to me in my bedroom.  It was at this moment, I realized the deep trust he had in me to protect him and how important I was to him.  This experience shifted how I parented.  Mainly, I stopped punishing him when he did things wrong and instead did more discipling (yes, there is a big difference).

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I went into private practice in 2008. My focus as a counselor began to shift. As a counselor, I was taught to listen and be supportive. However, I realized that this type of approach was not helpful in working with trauma and attachment issues. I then received training in EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, Internal Family Systems, Theraplay, Dyadic Developmental Therapy, the Oaklander Approach to Gestalt Play Therapy and Child-Centered Play Therapy to further my practice as a counselor. I received enough training to become a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor.  Additionally, in 2019, I went back to graduate school and obtain a graduate certificate in Infant/Family Mental Health from the University of Southern Florida.

Here is an extensive list of trainings I have received over the last couple of years. 

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My office is located at 28 Bronze Pointe N, Suite B, Swansea, IL 62226.  I can be reached at 314-651-6679. Or email at jamie@counselor.hush.com.

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Education

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Graduate Certificate in Infant/Family Mental Health from the University of Southern Florida (’19).

M.A. in Professional Counseling from Lindenwood University (’96).

B.A. in Psychology from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (’94).

 

Licensure and Certifications

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Licensed Professional Counselor (MO) since 2007.

Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (IL) since 2001.

National Certified Counselor (NCC).

Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor (CCMHC).

Master Addiction Counselor (MAC).

Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS).

Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor (RPT-S).

Register Yoga Teacher (RYT-200).

Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant (I/ECMH-C).

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