Profile

Nakeesha Haelen

Continued Care Provider in Taos
Counselor
Email

I have been a practicing therapist since 1984. Whew. That's a lot of lives shared with me. I thank all my clients for helping me to develop personally as well as professionally. Being in practice for so many years has given me the opportunity to work with so many different issues, some of which are: marital; family; substance abuse & addiction; various kinds of trauma (rape, incest, violence, military); "life on Planet Earth problems"; communication issues & training; work related issues (often associated with family of origin issues).

An over-riding philosophy I bring to my work is that the client is the expert on him/herself. I am there to function in various ways - as a guide, a teacher, a confessor, a person who has devoted her life to understanding human behavior and extending skill and compassion as prominent healing tools. I have an eclectic training. My degree is a Master of Social Work and over the years my trainings have included so many things from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Esoteric Healing.

What is common to the employment of any of the techniques I have been trained in is the application of compassion combined with encouragement to reach one's own potential, to enter the healing process with courage and willingness to explore one's self with ruthless honesty and to hold oneself responsible for the life we have had and the life we wish to create. This is no easy task but the results are worth the effort. One thing I can mention that is relevant to National Veterans Wellness and Healing Retreats is that for the last 9 years of my professional career I worked exclusively with Active Duty Military as well as their family members. I have been assigned 14 different rotations over that time that included Conus and Conus. Those years as a counselor included some of the most significant work I have done. The last 3 of those years I worked specifically with Special Operations Command, counseling Operators as well as others. Needless to say my learning curve was great and I consider it a great honor to have been able to serve those folks. In addition, my husband served in Vietnam in the Army. I have seen what I consider miracles of healing over the years. I believe in the work I am describing and my inspiration comes from what I have been privileged to observe over the years as well as the benefits and gifts I have personally received from my own work. People are often looking for kind of a "hero", someone they can rely upon to lead the way. My experience has taught me that you are your own "hero" and if my presence, my expertise, my experience is helpful to you as you walk your path, it is my intention to offer that to you.