My journey into counseling has been shaped by lived experience, personal healing, and a deep respect for the stories we carry. This space offers context for how my path unfolded—from growing up in rural Appalachia, to engaging in my own therapeutic work, to pursuing graduate training in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
Here, I share the experiences, values, and questions that continue to inform my approach to healing. This is not a complete telling, but an intentional one—offered with care, reflection, and the belief that understanding where we come from can help illuminate how we show up for others.
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My journey into counseling
My journey into counseling began not with certainty, but with lived experience—of growth, survival, healing, and transformation. I grew up as a young queer boy in rural Appalachia, raised among ridgelines, hollers, and the quiet weight of expectation inside the Southern Missionary Baptist Church. From an early age, I learned what it meant to feel…
Khristofer Johnsen 