I was quiet pleased with my experience. She used what is called the EMDR method for me to process through my car wreck trauma. It was excellent and I very much recommend it for anyone with PTSD of any kind. I was very sad when I had to stop treatment because she didnt take my new insurance and was too expensive for me to self-pay. I also did a womens group therapy with her. I dont know if I got much out of the group, but it appeared the other women were benefiting greatly. The only/most frustrating part for me was the payment process, however I did switch insurances a few times during my treatment so that didnt help.

Here is what to expect from a Dr. Richards appointment: You walk in 10 minutes early to your appointment and you can hear her typing on the computer or talking to her dog while you wait for her to open the window to check you in. At the exact time of your appointment, she will open the window and take your payment up front, this is considered part of your appointment as well. So she will spend anywhere between 5-15 minutes trying to charge your card with the busted card reader she has, and again, this time is considered part of your appointment time. She will then unlock the door to let let you in. There is a sign on the door that says No food or drinks allowed which doesnt seem to apply to her. If you do ask if you can bring a bottled water in because you are thirsty and have a dry mouth because you are in a counseling appointment and have to talk the whole time, she will deny you of that, even if she is drinking something herself. On top of that, she will likely get frustrated with you for asking and will refer to the sight on the door as if you are blind and did not see it. You will then go in the counseling room and she will start to ask you some questions about your life, how your feeling etc.. She will be on her computer the entire time typing up notes, so if you answer too fast, she will ask you to repeat yourself constantly. Now mind you, I have been to somwhrere between 20-30 appointments and I just got out of the evaluation stage about 2 appointments ago. It is VERY slow going, I felt like I only got 15 min worth of a 45 min appointment nearly every single time I went. So in a nutshell, if your appointment is at 2:15 and she takes 15 minutes to check you in, no matter what, your appointment will end at 3:00. She also likes to argue with you on subjects she has no clue about and she seems to refer to a TV show for her source of information. For example, at my last appointment, she argued with me for over 15 minutes about whether or not you need a liscense in the state of Texas to be a general contractor. I grew up in the business and even ran a framing company for a while, she knows this information, but was very persistent that I was wrong because she saw something on Dateline. I was sitting there thinking are you kidding me, is this a joke?!? I just couldnt believe that she was being so argumentative about a subject she has no clue about because of something she saw on TV!! Now here is the big kicker, and the bail of straw that broke the camels back. After that last appointment, I went ahead and scheduled 2 more appointments because I wanted to mull over what just happened before I make a rash decision and cut her off. Well, I thought about what happened and discussed it with multiple people and came to the conclusion that this counselor would be more of a problem for me, rather than a solution, so I did miss both appointments without calling. Now, I had been using my mothers card information, with her permission, to pay for my appointments because I got a divorce a year ago and have very little money, but I never had the actual card with me so she had to enter in the last 2 payments in manually (mind you, all the other times I paid, I had a card with me, so to be fair, I cannot apply the check in complaint above to the last 2 sessions because that was more of my fault for the long check ins). I never gave her permission to keep the card info because it was my mothers and need to ask permission before I use it, mostly out of courtesy. Well, evidentially, she DID keep that card info and charged me $300 for both missed appointments without my consent or my mothers consent. To reiterate, SHE WAS NOT AUTHORIZED TO KEEP ANY PAYMENT INFORMATION OF ANY KIND, but somehow, she did keep it and unlawfully charged my mothers card. I am only writing this because I feel like people should be warned. I wish I would have seen somthing like this before I wasted all of my time and money in her office. I am more than happy to answer any questions that anyone has, just send me a PM.

Im sure that this review will give away my identity; however, I think that I had some valuable experiences that others should know about before going to see Dr. Richards at the Joyful Life Institute. Working with Dr. Richards did not work well for me. I originally went in to work on sexuality, gender, and gender identity issues. Granted, I had multiple, pervasive layers of trauma to work through (and Dr. Richards is an excellent trauma and anxiety therapist!) and I was in the middle of a divorce, but I do not recommend Dr. Richards methods and expertise for anyone who may be questioning their gender or sexuality, especially if you may be transgender. I appreciate that we began our work together with the caveat that I was Dr. Richards first trans-client (even though her bio with Psychology Today said that she accepts LGBTQ clientele). I was willing to give it a try and work with her through the inexperience. As time drew on, I became frustrated with being given the role of educator in the therapeutic relationship. I provided books, definitions, things to read/watch to help her hear me better. Repeatedly, sessions would begin with I didnt have time to read this.. I did not want to be responsible for educating my own mental health care provider about the LGBTQIA communitys struggles, language, and culture. Moreover, I became feeling less and less safe as subtly transphobic commentary emerged. These comments included statements such as: Wow, youre *so* a fascinating [referring to my queer and trans* identities], your case is just so intriguing, I find it so fascinating that you dont want breasts etc. I felt like a case study or a laboratory specimen rather than a person. Why are my struggles and experiences of gender incongruence so fascinating to you? They are deeply painful for me. At the time, I didnt feel like I had the ability or power to point out how and why these comments made me uncomfortable since I was still learning about what it means to be trans*. Finally, I felt extremely uncomfortable with Dr. Richards use of the DSM in my presence. Among the trans* communities, there are different belief systems regarding the role of the DSM and GID (gender identity disorder) diagnoses. I protested the use of the DSM in our therapy session when she explained that we would be doing the process of diagnosis together. Rather than hearing me and listening to me about my feelings on the DSM, I felt pressured to accept this diagnostic tool as a guideline for our therapy. I was diagnosed with GID despite not feeling like I had a disorder at all. This denied my self-determination and personal empowerment and I felt ignored in the therapeutic relationship. I appreciated the work we did around family and trauma history. I learned about what it meant to find my own identity (distinct from my family of origin) and how to cope with triggers in my everyday life, but overall, I felt extremely unsafe as a trans* and queer person. I do not recommend that LGBTQ-identified or questioning clients seek services from the Joyful Life Institute. I recommend that Dr. Richards seriously consider learning more about her limitations and stop advertising on Psychology Today listing where she says that she accepts LGBT clients.

One of the worst therapists you could go to within the area. Save your time and money and find another one.