Meet Jeremy PIerce | MA, LMFT-S, LPC-S Clinical Director of Avanti Counseling & Consulting

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jeremy PIerce and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jeremy, what’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?
Conventional Advice: As long as you work hard, you will succeed. Hard Truth: Hard work does not guarantee success. Success is much more nauanced that just hard work, although many still believe that if you just put in enough effort, your business is bound to succeed. The truth is that it’s largely about having the right people in the right spots, having difficult conversations, and working hard on the right things at the right time and in the right way. Yes. Work hard. But work with the right people. Yes. Work hard. But for the right reasons. Yes. Work hard. But on the right things. Being busy is not a sign of success, and can often be a sign of exactly the oppoisite, of a business that is chaotic and lost. Movement for the sake of movement uses up resources and can decimate morale. Strategic and purposeful action done by the right people in the right way, is what turns the flywheel of sucess.Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Avanti Counseling & Consulting is committed to bringing the highest quality of counseling, psychotherapy, supervision, and consulting. Our mission was founded on the values of quality and growth. This applies to our clients and to the clinicians we help develop. We are a private practice and training hub in one. One replicates who one is, not what one does. This axiom has profound implications on a supervisor/supervisee or educator/student relationship, as not only replication but also evolution is integral in the process of therapist development. It is not about what we are putting out into the world, but who we are putting out into the world. Section One – The “Why” “Unless you learn to face your own shadows, you will continue to see them in others, because the world outside is only a reflection of the world inside you.” This quote by Carl Jung speaks to one of the primary reasons why I wanted to be a part of something like Avanti. The development of therapists themselves is the greatest asset the field of counseling has to leverage in addressing the current mental health crisis. Research has shown again and again the impact of the therapeutic alliance on therapeutic outcomes, and it’s my contention that in order to develop and maintain a healthy therapeutic alliance, the therapist must have begun their own processing of self-integration. Ideally, this should begin no later than their admittance to a graduate program in counseling. The greatest resource a therapist will ever have is their own self. Without adequate nurturing, guidance, and maturation, this vast well of resources can quickly be rendered mute at best, and harmful at worst. While valid on many levels, the current environment of limiting liability and avoiding dual relationships has produced therapists who can work through the DSM, but who cannot work through their own stuff when it comes up in session. Essentially, a therapist cannot, not tell their story through the therapeutic relationship. This is all the more concerning given the higher level of connectedness and relationship that both Millennials and Generation Z have proven need for in their professional development. Towards this end, I desire to continue to clarify my theory and praxis of supervision, namely exploring processes to address the balance between risk tolerance, limiting liability, and clinical beneficence as it applies to therapists in training. Adding to this, the desire to help form more than just a “modern therapist”, but a therapist that is rooted and healthy enough in their own being to be able to change and adapt for future needs and developments in the counseling field.Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Magnolia street in FW – especially NonnaTatas Eataly in Dallas Grapevine – especially during GrapefestThe Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Caleb Elrod. Caleb has developed a coaching and mentorship program for young people through a non-profit. He’s recently left his well paying public sector job to focus on this full time, as well as develop an international version. His coaching and training is both secular and faith based.

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Image Credits
Christopher Missimo