Kathy Reedy

For over 30 years Kathy Reedy has been guiding people through the healing process that will bring about a happier and healthier lifestyle. As a licensed and certified therapist with a caring and straight-forward approach, she’ll clear the path for growth in all of your desired relationships.

Imagine a child who has never seen a starfish except in a picture book. She is fascinated by them and loves to draw starfish during playtime. Whenever she goes to the toy store, she asks her parents to buy her starfish toys, and sea-themed little girl jewelry.  When anyone asks her, “what is your favorite animal,” she happily declares “a starfish!”

One day, her father takes her on a special trip and makes a very long drive to the ocean. Outside, they go for a long a walk along the beach. The little girl is fascinated and she cannot take her eyes off her feet, stopping to pick up every rock and shell she sees. After some time, her father looks out in the distance and he notices a starfish, far beyond the gaze of the little girl . The father decides not to simply point it out, but instead he quietly guides his daughter in its direction. And the moments that follow, for both father and daughter, will last a lifetime. How much more powerful the experience when the little girl discovers the starfish for the first time on her own, rather than having it pointed out to her.

Discovery is a powerful learning mechanism, and is one that I hold as a principle in our philosophy of counseling. I know what “learning the hard way” means – it is when people discover on their own something negative or harmful that causes change. Well, equally, I believe that discovery can also be “learning the good way”, and indeed, in my view, it is one of the most effective ways. It is important to note that discovery does not equate with experience, but with illumination. When illumination takes place, the person truly understands. It is the moment when an individual can see clearly, perhaps for the very first time, the whole truth of an issue at hand. This is what I mean by discovery.

It is our belief that for individuals to be invested in their own lives and future, the counseling process must be a process of personal discovery, or illumination, rather than simply providing directions and giving advice. When working with a counselor, clients can expect to discover their own unique path and personal outcome from their situation. This process leaves the client with the experience that he or she is responsible for the positive changes in their life. As a result, each person completely owns their own process and the resulting positive changes and improvements. I find this creates lasting change as the client is not dependent on counseling for their future success.