I’m Courtney Chappell, a Licensed Associate Professional Counselor at The Banyan Tree Center in Athens, Georgia. I work with teens and adults navigating trauma, relationship struggles, anxiety, and the deeper emotional patterns that keep people feeling stuck. I see clients in person in Athens and via telehealth across Georgia.

I have always been deeply curious about people and what helps them heal, grow, and feel a real sense of connection and belonging. I am especially drawn to the ways people adapt to survive difficult experiences, and how those same survival strategies can eventually become sources of pain or disconnection. That curiosity is at the heart of everything I do.

Before becoming a therapist I earned an MFA and worked extensively in the arts. That background still shapes how I work today. It deepened my appreciation for creativity, emotional expression, and the many ways people make meaning of their experiences. After my MFA I worked in a variety of mental health settings, trained as a Therapeutic Drumming Instructor through Youth Villages in 2017, and worked as a neurofeedback technician. Those experiences gave me a deep respect for the role of the body and nervous system in emotional healing.

My style is warm, collaborative, and deeply nonjudgmental. I want clients to feel like they don’t have to perform, hide parts of themselves, or get it right in therapy. Healing often begins when someone finally feels safe enough to be fully human in the presence of another person.

Healing often begins when someone finally feels safe enough to be fully human in the presence of another person.

Background and Credentials

• Licensed Associate Professional Counselor (LAPC), State of Georgia
• MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Piedmont University
• MFA in Multidisciplinary Creative Practice, Western Carolina University
• BA in Women’s Studies, Florida State University
• 24 hours externship training in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Atlanta Community EFT Center
• Certified Therapeutic Drumming Instructor, Youth Villages (2017)
• Former Neurofeedback Technician
• Background in residential and recovery-oriented mental health settings

How I Work

• In person at The Banyan Tree Center in Athens, GA
• Telehealth across Georgia
• Ages 14+

Approaches

Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), attachment-focused, trauma-informed, psychodynamic, expressive and art-based, mindfulness-based, and therapeutic drumming.

Couples and Relationship Therapy in Athens, GA

Who I work with. Couples often come in feeling stuck in the same painful arguments over and over, or emotionally disconnected and lonely even though they care deeply about each other. Sometimes one partner feels unseen or abandoned while the other feels criticized or like they can never get it right. Many are exhausted from trying to communicate but still missing each other emotionally.

What we do together. Using an emotionally focused and attachment-based approach, I help couples slow down the patterns happening between them and understand the deeper emotions and needs underneath the conflict. Therapy becomes a space where both people can start feeling safer, more understood, and more emotionally connected instead of trapped in cycles of blame, withdrawal, or defensiveness.

Trauma and Complex Trauma

Who I work with. A lot of clients feel exhausted from carrying emotional pain for a very long time. They may struggle with anxiety, shame, emotional overwhelm, numbness, or feeling like they are somehow fundamentally flawed. Many are high functioning on the outside while internally feeling disconnected, unsafe, or stuck in survival mode.

What we do together. We work slowly and compassionately to understand the protective patterns that developed for good reasons. I help clients build safety within themselves, process difficult emotions without becoming overwhelmed, and reconnect with parts of themselves that have been hidden or silenced. Therapy often becomes a place where clients experience being deeply understood while also learning how to trust themselves more fully.

Anxiety and Emotional Overwhelm

Who I work with. Clients often feel like their minds never stop. They overthink everything, anticipate worst-case scenarios, struggle to relax, or feel emotionally flooded by life and relationships. A lot of people feel frustrated because they know better logically but still cannot calm themselves down. That gap between knowing and feeling is real, and it is not a character flaw.

What we do together. I help clients understand their anxiety with curiosity rather than self-criticism. We explore both the emotional roots and the nervous system patterns underneath it while building real tools for grounding, emotional regulation, and self-trust. The goal is not just symptom management. It is helping you feel more connected and secure within yourself.

Attachment and Relational Wounds

Who I work with. Clients may feel stuck in painful relational patterns where they fear abandonment, lose themselves in relationships, struggle to trust others, or feel chronically lonely even when connected to people. Many understand their patterns intellectually but still feel trapped emotionally.

What we do together. We explore the emotional and attachment experiences underneath these patterns with compassion and curiosity rather than blame. I help clients develop healthier boundaries, deeper self-awareness, and a stronger sense of emotional security both within themselves and in their relationships with others.

Neurodivergence and Highly Sensitive Individuals

Who I work with. Many clients come in feeling misunderstood, overwhelmed, and chronically self-critical. Some are discovering later in life that they may be neurodivergent or highly sensitive and are trying to make sense of years of feeling different or like they never quite fit. The shame that comes with that is real and it deserves real attention.

What we do together. Therapy becomes a space to understand how your mind and nervous system actually work — not from a deficit perspective, but from a place of compassion and self-acceptance. We work on reducing shame, honoring your authentic needs, and building a life that feels more sustainable and aligned with who you really are.

A Few Things I Want You to Know

Before your first session

You do not have to show up perfectly or know exactly what to say. Therapy can feel vulnerable at first, and we move at a pace that feels emotionally safe for you. My hope is that you leave feeling genuinely seen, respected, and understood.

Something I wish more people knew

A lot of emotional struggles make sense in context. Many symptoms are actually intelligent adaptations that helped someone survive something difficult. Therapy is often less about fixing what is wrong with you and more about understanding yourself with compassion and creating enough safety for change to happen naturally.

Who I do my best work with

I love working with people who are ready to go a little deeper. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You just have to be curious about yourself and willing to feel things. If you have ever felt like you carry a lot internally, or like the world doesn’t quite have the right words for your experience, you will probably feel at home here.

What I want you to feel in our work together

I try to create a space where you can bring the parts of yourself you normally hide — including fear, grief, anger, confusion, tenderness, and vulnerability — without feeling shamed for them. The therapeutic relationship matters deeply to me. I want you to feel that from the very first session.