Monica Willhite, PhD, LPC-MHSP (she/her)

Meet Monica!

Trauma Therapist | EMDR Therapist | Attachment-Focused Clinician | Counselor Educator | LGBTQIA+ Affirming

Monica believes that everyone’s story matters, and that giving those stories a voice can change a life. She has deep respect for the courage it takes to take the first step into counseling, and she works to make her office a safe, steady place to find hope and healing. Monica came to counseling by a winding and well-lived road. She began her career as a teacher in the U.S. and abroad, then spent more than 15 years in international non-profit organizations and community development, including time living and working in a rural village in Haiti. Along the way she fell in love with hearing people’s stories and saw firsthand what true relationships can do. Eventually she went back to school to become a counselor, and she considers it an honor to do this work. Monica holds a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision, and her doctoral research asked trauma counselors what they wish they had known and been taught. She has served as a clinical director, supervised other therapists, and taught and supervised graduate counseling students, so she brings both a clinician’s heart and a teacher’s eye to her work.

Monica's Approach

Monica works from an attachment perspective, with a special interest in how the earliest relationships between parent and child shape us, from childhood clear through adulthood. She brings that lens to individual trauma work and her experience is wide and deeply hands-on.

She has worked in private practice, schools, non-profit organizations, and agency settings. She started her counseling career as a counselor and play therapist for a non-profit, leading grief groups and post-adoption support groups. She also served as a Safe Babies Trauma Therapist in Tarrant County, Texas, supporting birth parents involved in the child welfare system. Those years with children and families deepened her understanding of attachment, and that understanding now shapes how she works with adults who are healing from their own early experiences.

She is trained in EMDR and in Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP), an approach that sits right where neuroscience and attachment meet, and she tailors her work to each person’s pace, history, and goals.

Clients can expect warmth, steadiness, and a real sense of being understood.Monica is affirming of LGBTQIA+ clients and works with adults of all ages and stages of life.

Areas of Focus:

Monica works with adult individuals (18+). Her areas of focus include:
Trauma + PTSD
Attachment Wounding + Early Attachment Trauma
Adoption
Grief + Loss
AnxietyDepression
Parenting + Parent-Child Relationships
Women’s Issues
Spirituality
LGBTQIA+ Affirming Care

Modalities:

Monica blends the following approaches, allowing her to shape treatment around each individual client:
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR)
Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)
Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI)
Attachment-Based Therapy
Circle of Security Parenting
Trauma-Informed Motivational Interviewing

Education & Training

PhD in Counselor Education & Supervision – East Texas A&M University
Master of Arts in Counseling – MidAmerica Nazarene University,
Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies/Elementary Education – Texas Woman’s University,
EMDR Trained
Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) – Level 1
Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI)
Circle of Security Parenting – Certified Facilitator
Certified SafeCare Provider
Nurturing Parenting Program – Certified Facilitator
Attachment & Biobehavioral Catch-Up – Parent Coach
Trauma-Informed Motivational Interviewing - My Health My Resources of Tarrant County, Texas