Heidi B. Roeder, MS, MFT, LPC

        Heidi Roeder decided to pursue a counseling career after a lifetime of appreciating the diversity and yet universal ‘sameness’ of others. It was during time spent in childhood and early adulthood with her father who worked in Employee Assistance Programs and a grandmother whose life spanned 103 years over two centuries, that she learned the value of relationship, compassion and the positive power of connection with others. From a large, close-knit family life with a grandmother who was family historian and matriarch, a father who helped to better the personal and professional lives of others, and a loving and nurturing mother, Heidi believes she comes well suited to follow this path.

        After many years working with the public in health care and education, and raising a family, Heidi began a second career by pursuing a Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling at Shippensburg University. She also worked and volunteered in child abuse prevention and parenting programs. After graduating she began her work as a licensed clinical therapist at a family service agency in Harrisburg. It was there she was able to work with a diverse population and develop a broad skill base working with adults, adolescents, couples and families. She continues to have special interest in working with individuals around addiction recovery, parenting, relationships, depression and anxiety. In addition, Heidi is currently broadening her expertise in working with couples and families by pursuing a 4-year program in Marriage and Family Therapy at the Council for Relationships in Philadelphia, and will become licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist in 2012.

        Heidi’s approach to working with all her clients is first to build a quality relationship. She believes that the first task in therapy is a good match between counselor and counselee and after that to build a strong and trusting bond. Her approach to counseling is to match the needs of the individual to the ‘best practice’ approaches in therapy. Heidi’s therapeutic orientation draws on psychodynamic, emotion-focused, cognitive-behavioral, systems, attachment, relational, Gestalt and existential theories. She has special interest in working with couples and families. She has a personal and professional interest in use of genograms, journal writing and expressive therapies.

        Outside of work Heidi’s interests include arts and crafts, hiking, camping, golf, bird watching, kayaking, photography, gardening, sports and family interests. She has lived in the area since 1995 and is the mother of three sons ages 27, 23 and 15.

• A.A., Fine Arts, 1976, Simmons College, Boston, MA
• B.A., Art History, 1978, Boston University, Boston, MA
• M.S., Mental Health Counseling, 2002, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, PA
• Post Master’s Certificate (circa 2011), Marriage and Family Therapy, Council for Relationships, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, PA
• Licensed Professional Counselor, Pennsylvania since 2004
• National Board of Certified Counselors, since 2002
• American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, Student Member since 2009