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Stacey Lewis, LPC, RPTOwner
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The moment I held my first child, I decided to put my professional dreams on hold. It was love at first sight with my son, and I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom in the biggest way. My husband and I ended up having three awesome boys, and I was home with them for 13 years.
During the 13th year, however, my desire grew to get back into counseling. I went back to school at Liberty University and completed my MA in professional counseling. During this time I worked for several counseling agencies with the goal of becoming licensed as an LPC and setting up a practice. Eventually both of these dreams came true. I feel so blessed!
My heart began stirring for Seeds of Hope back in 2016 while I was working as a school counselor. I realized many kids had lots of emotional needs that were not being met. I noticed a need for more counseling agencies specialized in creative therapies designed uniquely for kids & teens. I began brainstorming ways I could help with that in the community I lived in. In 2017, I opened Seeds of Hope and began seeing clients in my home office. My clientele steadily grew to the point in which my family wanted me out of the house. They gave me the push I needed to find a new location. I am so thankful they did! Exactly a year later in 2018, I opened up a new office in downtown Shrewsbury, PA. It was a perfect, cute little place for the time. I quickly saw the need, however, to hire another therapist to help with the growing demand of clients. God instead supplied me with two amazing therapists and when both of them were booked our little space became too little. Even though I wasn't quite ready to move on, God pushed me forward by opening up a bigger space right next door exactly another year later in 2019. I am so thankful the Lord guided me to this equally adorable and again perfect destination! I have no doubt it was His plan all along! Our team at Seeds continues to grow! We began by offering child therapy, but expanded in 2020 to offer therapies for everyone in the family. Just recently in 2023 we opened another location in Red Lion, PA. Our mission has grown bigger and we are continually looking for Gods direction.
My counseling philosophy is one that works on the heart. I believe everything flows from this deeper place. In order to grow or change anything, we must work here. Instead of working directly on behaviors, I believe in working underneath them. Ultimately, if we change the heart- behaviors will change too. I usually explain this by using the analogy of an apple. Our behaviors, feelings & thoughts are the outside peel and they are only as good as the seeds or core within them. When working with kids & teens, my goal is to get down to the core, figure out what is going on there and plant positive seeds. This is one of the main reasons I named our practice Seeds of Hope!
Throughout my career, I have learned play therapy is the best therapy for children & teens. Kids can have fun in therapy and that fun can be fruitful. Children communicate best through play- it is their language. Getting on their level helps us better help them! Our goal is to give them a safe place to be authentic, to find trust and genuine care. They also learn so much with this hands on approach. They learn about themselves & others, how to communicate more effectively, control their emotion, share and problem solve. I believe as their therapist, I have the best job of all! Each session is an adventure of growth, learning and self-discovery mixed with really fun activities and cool toys. You couldn't pay me to do anything else!
Just recently, in April of 2024, I became a RPT, Registered Play Therapist. I didn't just become this, I worked like crazy for this license. Thousands of hours later and many lessons learned, I have reached this coveted position. While I am an expert in play therapy, I hold this worldly title loosely. I don't know everything, my clients teach me new things each session. Yes, they teach me. I have learned that life is precious, our children are all special and God gave us each unique gifts. I pray I can be used continually to plant this seed in each child I see!
During the 13th year, however, my desire grew to get back into counseling. I went back to school at Liberty University and completed my MA in professional counseling. During this time I worked for several counseling agencies with the goal of becoming licensed as an LPC and setting up a practice. Eventually both of these dreams came true. I feel so blessed!
My heart began stirring for Seeds of Hope back in 2016 while I was working as a school counselor. I realized many kids had lots of emotional needs that were not being met. I noticed a need for more counseling agencies specialized in creative therapies designed uniquely for kids & teens. I began brainstorming ways I could help with that in the community I lived in. In 2017, I opened Seeds of Hope and began seeing clients in my home office. My clientele steadily grew to the point in which my family wanted me out of the house. They gave me the push I needed to find a new location. I am so thankful they did! Exactly a year later in 2018, I opened up a new office in downtown Shrewsbury, PA. It was a perfect, cute little place for the time. I quickly saw the need, however, to hire another therapist to help with the growing demand of clients. God instead supplied me with two amazing therapists and when both of them were booked our little space became too little. Even though I wasn't quite ready to move on, God pushed me forward by opening up a bigger space right next door exactly another year later in 2019. I am so thankful the Lord guided me to this equally adorable and again perfect destination! I have no doubt it was His plan all along! Our team at Seeds continues to grow! We began by offering child therapy, but expanded in 2020 to offer therapies for everyone in the family. Just recently in 2023 we opened another location in Red Lion, PA. Our mission has grown bigger and we are continually looking for Gods direction.
My counseling philosophy is one that works on the heart. I believe everything flows from this deeper place. In order to grow or change anything, we must work here. Instead of working directly on behaviors, I believe in working underneath them. Ultimately, if we change the heart- behaviors will change too. I usually explain this by using the analogy of an apple. Our behaviors, feelings & thoughts are the outside peel and they are only as good as the seeds or core within them. When working with kids & teens, my goal is to get down to the core, figure out what is going on there and plant positive seeds. This is one of the main reasons I named our practice Seeds of Hope!
Throughout my career, I have learned play therapy is the best therapy for children & teens. Kids can have fun in therapy and that fun can be fruitful. Children communicate best through play- it is their language. Getting on their level helps us better help them! Our goal is to give them a safe place to be authentic, to find trust and genuine care. They also learn so much with this hands on approach. They learn about themselves & others, how to communicate more effectively, control their emotion, share and problem solve. I believe as their therapist, I have the best job of all! Each session is an adventure of growth, learning and self-discovery mixed with really fun activities and cool toys. You couldn't pay me to do anything else!
Just recently, in April of 2024, I became a RPT, Registered Play Therapist. I didn't just become this, I worked like crazy for this license. Thousands of hours later and many lessons learned, I have reached this coveted position. While I am an expert in play therapy, I hold this worldly title loosely. I don't know everything, my clients teach me new things each session. Yes, they teach me. I have learned that life is precious, our children are all special and God gave us each unique gifts. I pray I can be used continually to plant this seed in each child I see!
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Katrina Spencer, MAChild & Family TherapistI always knew my calling in life was working with people, especially children. There is nothing more significant to me than walking alongside children as they become the best versions of themselves – the unique and beautiful people God created them to be. With this passion planted in my heart, I earned a BA in Psychology from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA and a MA in Clinical Psychology from Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore. I also spent a glorious semester studying abroad in London, England as part of Higher Education in Europe. |
My many years of experience working with children and families has encompassed a number of different settings: residential treatment center, treatment foster care, and a group home setting for males coming out of the juvenile justice system. I have also provided crisis counseling for women and children in domestic violence situations.
For the past six years, I have home schooled my own two children. This has been a blessing to them as well as to me. I have loved being a part of their educational journey and fueling their desire to learn and grow!
When not working or teaching, I enjoy spending time exploring and adventuring with my family, soaking up God’s glorious creation, and reading and learning as much as I can about this amazing world and its diverse people. I look forward to working with each family and child God brings my way here at Seeds of Hope!
For the past six years, I have home schooled my own two children. This has been a blessing to them as well as to me. I have loved being a part of their educational journey and fueling their desire to learn and grow!
When not working or teaching, I enjoy spending time exploring and adventuring with my family, soaking up God’s glorious creation, and reading and learning as much as I can about this amazing world and its diverse people. I look forward to working with each family and child God brings my way here at Seeds of Hope!
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Bethany Lippy, MATS
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I hold a Bachelor of Science in Biblical Studies and Psychology and a Master of Arts in Theological Studies. Throughout my time in youth ministry, women’s ministry, and seminary, I have had the opportunity to provide pastoral shepherding and counseling to women, parents, and students in various stages of spiritual growth and seasons of life. Over the years I have learned that being a teen is one of the hardest stages of life! Especially in today's world, teens have so many challenges to overcome. My goal in working with teens is to help them realize their God-given gifts and uniqueness, to understand who they truly are and to appreciate the way they have been created. I want to plant within them seeds of encouragement to reach for their goals and live joyfully.
Do not grieve, for the JOY of the LORD is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10
Do not grieve, for the JOY of the LORD is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10
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Jill Buhler, M.Ed
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Natali Monaghan, MEd
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My passion to work with children began when I was a teenager and continued as I earned my Bachelors of Arts degree in Social Work from Shippensburg and then my Masters of Education in secondary school counseling. I am now a Nationally Certified Counselor with experience in many mental health settings, juvenile detention, in schools as well as community and home settings.
Outside of my counseling career, I am a wife and mother of two teenage boys. I enjoy taking my Cavapoo “Biscuit” for walks, spending time with friends and family and reading a good book. Humor is a big part of my personality. I love to laugh and my outgoing personality allows me to engage people and develop positive relationships. Humor can aid with perspective and help people overcome many obstacles (as well as not taking things too seriously!)
I am excited to use my experiences, humor and knowledge to work with all of the children and teens who come my way here at Seeds of Hope. I will be seeing clients in both the Shrewsbury and new Red Lion office. Planting seeds of hope is my new mission!
Outside of my counseling career, I am a wife and mother of two teenage boys. I enjoy taking my Cavapoo “Biscuit” for walks, spending time with friends and family and reading a good book. Humor is a big part of my personality. I love to laugh and my outgoing personality allows me to engage people and develop positive relationships. Humor can aid with perspective and help people overcome many obstacles (as well as not taking things too seriously!)
I am excited to use my experiences, humor and knowledge to work with all of the children and teens who come my way here at Seeds of Hope. I will be seeing clients in both the Shrewsbury and new Red Lion office. Planting seeds of hope is my new mission!
Valerie Snyder,MEd
Child & Family Therapist
Hello! My name is Valerie Snyder, and I’m excited to be joining this team! After visiting Seeds of Hope, I realized that it’s such an amazing and positive place! I am so happy to be joining the staff here in Red Lion.
After high school, I attended York College for a year and transferred to Lancaster Bible College (LBC) to finish with a Bachelors in Christian Counseling. While at LBC, I had the unique opportunity to meet weekly with a group of students at the Youth Development Center and play sports with the juvenile residents.
That experience, along with my adoration for children, led me to want to work with them. I finished out my undergrad by being a counselor at a pro-life pregnancy center in the city. Shortly after graduating college, I had my two children and was a stay-at-home mom during the early part of their lives. When my oldest child started school, I became a guest teacher and would substitute teach part-time throughout the week. This experience, along with several years of teaching children at church, made me realize that I would like to further my career working with children. When my youngest child started kindergarten, I enrolled in graduate school at LBC and earned my Master’s of Education in Elementary School Counseling. The school counselor position in my children’s elementary school became vacant while I was still finishing my degree. I was blessed to be able to fill that position while finishing my thesis! I am now in my 18th year there! I’ve worked closely with students that have various diagnoses including ADHD, ODD, Autism, etc. I love to watch my students grow and blossom over the course of their academic careers. Also in my role, I’ve been part of trauma informed training and I became the district's Crisis Prevention Intervention instructor. With this role, I’ve had the privilege to train all of our district staff in de-escalation strategies. This includes understanding what may be behind students' behaviors and how to support them. I believe that relationships are at the core, and establishing them is most important.
I am excited to use my experiences as I also work in this new setting at Seeds of Hope. My goal is to help everyone that I work with realize and reach their full potential!
Child & Family Therapist
Hello! My name is Valerie Snyder, and I’m excited to be joining this team! After visiting Seeds of Hope, I realized that it’s such an amazing and positive place! I am so happy to be joining the staff here in Red Lion.
After high school, I attended York College for a year and transferred to Lancaster Bible College (LBC) to finish with a Bachelors in Christian Counseling. While at LBC, I had the unique opportunity to meet weekly with a group of students at the Youth Development Center and play sports with the juvenile residents.
That experience, along with my adoration for children, led me to want to work with them. I finished out my undergrad by being a counselor at a pro-life pregnancy center in the city. Shortly after graduating college, I had my two children and was a stay-at-home mom during the early part of their lives. When my oldest child started school, I became a guest teacher and would substitute teach part-time throughout the week. This experience, along with several years of teaching children at church, made me realize that I would like to further my career working with children. When my youngest child started kindergarten, I enrolled in graduate school at LBC and earned my Master’s of Education in Elementary School Counseling. The school counselor position in my children’s elementary school became vacant while I was still finishing my degree. I was blessed to be able to fill that position while finishing my thesis! I am now in my 18th year there! I’ve worked closely with students that have various diagnoses including ADHD, ODD, Autism, etc. I love to watch my students grow and blossom over the course of their academic careers. Also in my role, I’ve been part of trauma informed training and I became the district's Crisis Prevention Intervention instructor. With this role, I’ve had the privilege to train all of our district staff in de-escalation strategies. This includes understanding what may be behind students' behaviors and how to support them. I believe that relationships are at the core, and establishing them is most important.
I am excited to use my experiences as I also work in this new setting at Seeds of Hope. My goal is to help everyone that I work with realize and reach their full potential!
Come join the fun and play therapy with us!
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Send Us A Message And Let Us Know How We Can Best Serve You.
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HoursBy Appointment
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Telephone717-586-7473
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LOcation27 N. Main St. Shrewsbury, PA 17361
20 N. Main St. Red Lion, PA 17356 |
PLANTING SEEDS OF HOPE
