I have been in the counseling field since 2006, and I consider it a great privilege to keep learning and growing, creating deeply authentic relationships with the people I meet.

Professional Credentials

Licenses and credentials…

I am a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Supervisor in the state of North Carolina and a Licensed Professional Counselor-Mental Health Service Provider in Tennessee.

I am also an approved telehealth provider for South Carolina.

This means that I can work with clients from any of those states.

I also have my Approved Clinical Supervisor, Registered Play Therapist Supervisor, National Certified Counselor, Board Certified TeleMental Health credentials.

My initial counselor licensure was in North Carolina, and I’ve been licensed since 2007.

Hiking trail, rocky and in the woods

The path to here…

I came into this field in a fairly straightforward manner.

My mom was a school counselor, so counseling was ever-present.

I attended Clemson University, graduating in 1999, where I studied psychology and music.

During my break between Clemson and further schooling I worked in early intervention.

Having decided that real life was not yet what I wanted, I decided to return to school and received my master’s in Community Counseling at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2005.

I practiced for a few years in a variety of settings, including work with a child advocacy center and in college advisement.

Finally, I attended UNCC again, starting in 2009 and finished in 2015 with my PhD in Counseling.

Since then, I have taught counseling in several master’s programs.

Recently, in seeking to live a more balanced and authentic life, I have left academia as a full-time career, though I still teach adjunct.

Dr. Fornwalt sitting in a chair, smiling at the camera.

Specialized training and areas of expertise…

I have completed training in Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) and am a Level II AEDP therapist. I plan to continue training in this modality.

I am also heavily influenced by mindfulness and interpersonal neurobiology and have training in Dr. Dan Siegel’s Interpersonal Neurobiology approach.

As someone with a specialty in clinical mental health, I have worked with a variety of issues. However, my areas of specialty include supporting parents/caregivers, working with children/adolescents, working with adults (especially creative professionals), and working with attachment concerns in relationships.

As such, I provide online parent coaching and therapy, therapy for adults, and teen therapy.

I am especially versed in parent-child work to help parents improve relationships with their children.

I present on, and have expertise in, a variety of advocacy-related topics and consider myself a passionate social justice advocate.

As such, attending to intersecting cultural identities and issues of oppression in counseling is something that I am committed to doing with clients.

I am affirming of all gender and sexual orientation identities.

I also enjoy working with folks in a variety of relationship and family structures and celebrate the diverse ways people build intimate partnership and family.

My Services

Connect with me