Hi, I'm Nikki.

I'm a Licensed Independent Social Worker.... aka therapist... aka counselor...who has been providing therapy, since August of 2014.  I am also a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC), as well as an Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) trained therapist. 

I returned to school, in my early 30’s, after working for many years with individuals with disabilities, in both vocational and residential settings. I found that as I was promoted through the years, I was getting further and further from what I loved most, helping individuals 1:1 to live their best life. This is what led me to return to graduate school. I attended the University of Iowa’s Master of Social Work program from 2013-2015. Upon graduation, I was hired by a Cedar Rapids hospital, where I had interned my 2nd year of graduate school.  They hired me to work at their Family Counseling Clinic and Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment program. In 2018, I joined a group private practice in Cedar Rapids, where I worked until beginning my own private practice, Strong Counseling, PLC, in North Liberty, in November of 2021. 

Personally, I am very down to earth and outgoing. Most people tell me I am very easy to talk to, as well as very caring and compassionate. I am a wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, fur-baby mama, friend, among many other roles. I definitely try to “live life to the fullest,” as my dad has instilled in me. I identify as she/her and I am a proud LGBTQ ally. 

I take a non-judgemental and accessible approach to mental health.

Through my experience of working with many different populations, through many walks of life, it has become very clear to me, just how unique and intricate of beings we are. One treatment approach does not work for all and one person’s goals in therapy are very different from another’s. I respect where each individual is at.

I view therapy as a collaboration, between myself and the client, to work as a team to determine what goals are most important to you. We then together will determine the best treatment approaches to take. If you don’t like certain techniques or feel they are not helpful to you, we will try other ones, to help you to be at your own identified best. 

When I stated before, life is complicated, this is something that personally resonates greatly with me. I have had my own struggles and times where I also needed help. This sparked me wanting to help others with their journey even more.  As a therapist, I believe counseling should be about your journey and not my own.  If I believe sharing parts of my own journey may help you, I may self-disclose, only when appropriate for you.

Whether you've tried therapy before and didn't find the right fit, or if you've been thinking about it for a while but haven't yet made the leap, I'm ready to be a resource for you. A large variable of successful therapy is the fit between the therapist and the client. I truly enjoy getting to know each of my clients and building a strong connection with each of them.

In my practice, you won't experience judgement or hear me use confusing clinical jargon. I am very down to earth and I take pride in explaining mental health and treatment to individuals, in terms that makes sense to them. My present and past clients often tell me, I am best described as being "compassionate and real."

We will work together using highly-personalized, solution-focused, evidence-based techniques that are the right fit for you. My job is to give you the tools you need through therapy to achieve powerful change for yourself.