My role as your therapist is to coach, guide, and encourage you through the therapy process. I work collaboratively, in a non-judgmental way, with humor, empathy, and validation. My style is relaxed, compassionate, and caring. Our relationship is one of the most essential aspects of therapy. It is important to me that you feel comfortable being yourself.
I specialize in treating anxiety and grief as a Certified Anxiety Treatment Professional and Certified Grief Professional-CGP. I am also EMDR trained and treat trauma, depression, grief, and relationship issues as well as helping you work through everyday life stressors.
I received my bachelor’s degree in Psychology and English from The University of Texas and my master’s degree in Counseling from The University of North Texas. I am the widowed mother of 4 daughters and 2 dogs. Having experienced the hardships of chronic illness and loss, I hold a special place in my heart for all who are hurting. It would be my privilege to work with you to help you find your hope, healing and meaning.
Hi, I’m Cherilyn Schutze.
Member of the Texas Counseling Association.
My Story
I am the mother of 4 daughters and two dogs (a Malti-Poo named Bentley and an Australian Labradoodle named Tucker). I was married to my high school sweetheart for 29 years prior to his passing away from cancer in 2013.
Having experienced the excruciating pain of loss leading up to and following the death of my husband, having 2 children with significant health issues, and having experienced chronic illness myself, I have a unique perspective and insight into grief, trauma, and anxiety. I understand the fear, confusion, and overwhelm that can accompany these issues.
Life can be so hard at times. When we’re struggling, it helps to have someone to walk alongside us through our pain, to listen when we need an ear, and to help guide us as we navigate the challenges we face. I learned this from my own experience and decided I wanted to offer the same to other people when they’re struggling, which is why I started my therapy practice.
To learn more about me and my experiences with loss, chronic illness, and motherhood, click to listen to this podcast where I go into more depth about my story.
My Approach
I firmly believe that when we go through hardships in life, there are always lessons we can learn from them and thereby, lessons we can share with others. I feel called to help others with empathy and compassion gained through the hardships I have experienced.
My approach is relationship focused. I have a relaxed, nonjudgmental style and work collaboratively with my clients with compassion, empathy, and at times, humor, to build a strong alliance that creates a space where you feel comfortable and confident in the work we do together. Our relationship is one of the most important aspects of therapy. It is my goal to ensure you have a secure space to heal and grow.
You are the expert on yourself. My passion is to help you heal, gain insight, and learn new coping and communication skills that lead to your becoming the best version of yourself and moving forward with your life in a new way that honors you and your values.
My Experience
I am EMDR trained, certified in the treatment of anxiety (Certified Clinical Anxiety Treatment Professional-CCATP) and grief (Certified Grief Professional-CGP), and am attachment focused. My areas of specialty include anxiety, trauma, grief, and everyday life stressors. I use many evidence-based treatments in my therapy approaches such as CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy), EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing), IFS (Internal Family Systems), and Mindfulness, in addition to DNMS (Developmental Needs Meeting Strategy for childhood attachment wounds) and David Kessler’s model for grief. I received my BA in Psychology and English from The University of Texas and my Master’s in Counseling from The University of North Texas, in 2011. I have worked in partial hospitalization programs for teens, as a crisis counselor for a major hospital group in Dallas, and in private practice.
“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
— Dr. Wayne Dyer
I would be honored to work with you to help you find new ways to look at your struggles and gain the skills necessary to make changes to become a happier, healthier you! Give me a call and let's start your journey.
