While life is a gift and a joy, life can also be very challenging. Life can often seem like a roller coaster – with amazing aspirations, thrills, and excitement that sometime seem to turn into stress, chills, and even terror. The way we deal with the upturns and downturns is often set in place when we are very young and these methods of coping do not always work as well as we would have hoped. Counseling provides the opportunity to reflect on the past and present, achieve greater clarity in the way we see life issues, and to identify previously unseen options and choices that can give a new perspective to life’s challenges. Counseling offers the opportunity to work on various essential skills such as communication, problem solving, relationship building, and coping mechanisms.

Gary works with adolescents, adults, couples, families, and groups. He employs various theoretical approaches including Adlerian, Psychodynamic, Cognitive-Behavioral, and Solution Focused Therapies.

Gary is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and he holds a M.S. in Pastoral Counseling from Loyola University Maryland. He has pursued Advanced Study curriculum at Loyola as well. Gary has been practicing counseling since 2011 in supervised and independent settings. He has over 24 years of volunteer experience in spiritual growth and development, coaching and mentoring, and career/lifestyle training primarily with high school, college age students, and young adults and their families. Gary also holds a B.S. in Mathematical Sciences and a M.S. in Administration with experience in IT and administrative settings, including over 20 years of managerial experience in team leadership, career coaching, and professional development.

Working from the standpoint that clients are the professionals of their own lives, I extend a hand to walk with you through your journey to provide support and a genuine, nonjudgmental ear. I work with children, adolescents, and adults, meeting developmental and mental health needs. Other areas of experience I have include working with survivors of trauma, non-directive play therapy, LGBTQ+ support, multicultural care, transracial adoptees, Christian and spiritual care, active military and veterans, substance abuse, ADHD management skills (adults and children), grief, etc.

In collaboration with clients to achieve support, healing, and growth, I believe in integrating client-centered care with a holistic approach. Alongside using cognitive behavioral therapy, I also incorporate dialectical behavioral therapy, Adlerian therapy, and the Polyvagal theory. When it comes to working with children clients, I strive to not only work with the child but also partner with parents and caregivers to best set up family systems for success based on their unique needs.

Seeking counseling can feel daunting sometimes. You are not alone and I look forward to working with you to meet your mental health goals!

Christlyn is an art therapist and counselor who has been practicing in Maryland since 2020. She has experience working with both adults and children in various settings including partial hospitalization programs, intensive outpatient programs, trauma clinics, inpatient hospitals, and community clinics.

Christlyn believes that therapy is a collaborative process and works with clients to increase self-awareness, gain new perspectives, and increase personal strengths. She takes a holistic and client centered approach towards mental health. She has specialized training in using the creative process to explore the conscious and unconscious and discover feelings and experiences. Christlyn uses art making to assist clients with discovering, exploring, processing, communicating, and expressing themselves. One does not need to be an artist to engage in or benefit from art therapy. She enjoys working with individuals of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.

Christlyn obtained her Master's Degree in Art Therapy from The George Washington University Columbian College of Arts and Sciences and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Studio Art from Goucher College. She is a nationally registered and board-certified art therapist, and is a licensed clinical professional art therapist and counselor in Maryland. Christlyn is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Community Care and Counseling with a focus on Traumatology at Liberty University.

Lacy Mucklow, MA, ATR-BC, LPAT-S, LCPAT, ATCS, CCTP

(she, her)

Registered and Board Certified Art Therapist

Licensed Professional Art Therapist - Supervisor (Kentucky)

Licensed Clinical Professional Art Therapist (Maryland)

Art Therapy Certified Supervisor

Certified Clinical Trauma Professional

Certified Integrative Mental Health Professional

Lacy sees clients in our Sykesville, Maryland office.

Lacy is an art therapist who has been practicing in the Washington, DC area since 1999, working in various sites including home-based counseling, school, partial hospitalization program, and inpatient hospitalization settings. She has particular experience working with adolescents and adults. Primarily, Lacy has provided art therapy in the military environment since 2002, working with military dependents, wounded warriors, and active duty service members. Much of Lacy's experience is working with persons diagnosed or struggling with depression, anxiety, OCD, trauma, grief and loss, transition and adjustment issues, perfectionistic tendencies, and self-esteem. She employs a number of approaches through art therapy, including cognitive behavioral, strengths-based, client-centered, IFS/parts, and Jungian paradigms. Lacy is trained and proficient in a number of specialties, including sand play therapy, the ITT Graphic Narrative trauma processing, Mandala work, the Diagnostic Drawing Series (DDS), and SoulCollage®.

Lacy also likes to focus on mindfulness and meditative methods to help people relax and be able to reduce their stress levels. To this end, she has also released two relaxation double albums with original music and guided imagery, entitled Lavender Dreams and Lavender Destinations, as a way to help people relax and reduce stress. Lacy has incorporated meditative methods as part of her therapeutic practice for most of her career and created these original meditations to help people with mindfulness practices.

Lacy incorporates creative interventions to help people with their needs in a way that can be effective in a more deep and connective way, using art making to help clients discover, explore, communicate, resolve, process, and express themselves more fully without judgment or expectation. It is important to note that one does not need to be an artist to benefit from and use art therapy - the focus is on the process rather than the product. The art is the "third party" in the session, which can help people find the words they did not have previously. The artwork can help to provide distance once internal states are expressed externally into the art, which can then become a springboard into self-awareness and discovery as well. Processing things visually rather than verbally allows the brain to access that which may be pre-verbal or experiences where words are inadequate, and using the metaphor can make issues easier to address.

Lacy obtained her Master's Degree in Art Therapy from The George Washington University and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology with a Studio Art Minor from Oklahoma State University. She is currently working on her PhD in Mind-Body Medicine from Saybrook University. Lacy is a nationally registered and board certified art therapist, and is a licensed clinical professional art therapist in Maryland. She is also an Art Therapy Certified Supervisor, and has supervised graduate students and ATR/licensure candidates since 2006.

In addition to mentoring, Lacy has presented at the American Art Therapy Association National Conference and led several art therapy workshops and lectures at universities and hospitals, in the community, and for global organizations. Lacy has been honored to be a guest on several podcasts to talk about art and wellness and how it can help people with everyday life as well as with chronic pain and illness. She also facilitates art therapy for wellness groups with cancer patients and has written related articles, including “The Art of Coping with Cancer” for Coping Magazine.

In addition to her passion and devotion to providing art therapy, Lacy is a New York Times bestselling author and National Bestseller with her coloring book series for adults (Color Me Calm, Color Me Happy, Color Me Stress-Free, Color Me Fearless, Color Me to Sleep, and Color Me Grateful), which have been translated into 15 languages. She has also authored an art journal for mothers and their children to communicate through art in response to prompts in Mom and Me: An Art Journal to Share, Connect, and Create Side-by-Side. Featured on “CBS Sunday Morning,” Lacy was also a presenter with the Smithsonian Resident Associate Program and was the Keynote Speaker for the First Born Girls Social Club's 10th anniversary program. She has also interviewed with magazines, newspapers, and podcasts around the world about the books and the adult coloring phenomenon as well as how coloring benefits people.

Gina is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, a Certified Integrative Mental Health Professional, a Certified Personal Trainer, and a Certified Nutrition Coach.

Gina works with adults with mood, adjustment and relationship concerns using Behavioral, Cognitive-Behavioral and Gottman Therapy approaches. She also conducts Fitness for Mental Health sessions to support clients in maximizing nutrition and movement principles to improve or maintain mental and physical well-being.

John is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and a Nationally Certified Counselor. He holds a Master of Science in Pastoral Counseling. He has 30 years of professional experience, including 10 years working specifically with families, couples, children and adolescents, and 16 years working in addictions. John uses his personal and professional experience to work with individuals and families dealing with autism spectrum disorders.

John's interest is helping others make goal specific changes within themselves and their environment to help them heal and grow. John uses different approaches including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, cognitive/behavioral interventions, mindfulness, and IMAGO dialogue methods to improve communication and understanding, supporting the goal of effective and lasting change. His approach to marriage counseling and infidelity closely incorporates the work of John and Julia Gottman. John has increasingly worked with clients challenged by anxiety, following the work and protocols developed by Dr. Reid Wilson.

John approaches therapy as a collaborative endeavor, providing insight, education, and behavioral choices as he and his clients work together toward meaningful change. John believes that each session offers ways to reframe and think about challenges along with the tools, strategies, and tasks to create movement towards the client’s goals, values, and expectations.

Areas of Expertise:

Relationship Challenges

Marriage and Pre-Marital Counseling

Infidelity

Family Counseling

Behavioral Challenges in Children and Adolescents

Intellectual/Developmental/Autism Disorders

Social Learning (Social Skills)

Anxiety Disorders

Play Therapy

Spirituality and Mindfulness

I offer a warm, supportive manner to help you find solutions that are right for you. I have extensive experience working with troubled couples, parent-child relationships, and children, as well as adolescent girls' issues. I am comfortable dealing with sexuality issues, and other relationship problems.

Cognitive-behavioral, solution-focused therapy is usually short-term and extremely effective. It often includes homework assignments to give the client practice in trying out new techniques to solve problems quickly. There is often a psycho-educational component to clear up misinformation especially re sexuality and infertility issues.