About

Steven Sellars

Steven is a board certified, state licensed professional counselor (#3568) and national certified counselor (#296982). He specializes in several areas including: psychotherapy (counseling) for individuals, trauma-crisis and recovery, psychological first aid and also stress management. Steven helps individuals develop immediate, short-term, long-term and life stress reduction and recovery.

Steven has over 17 years’ experience as a part-time and volunteer firefighter, first responder and chaplain. He has experience with combat veterans of all ages and has helped many through grief, loss, recovery and reentry from being down-range. Steven has invested much of his time and building stress resilience and helping people learn to better mitigate their daily stress and ongoing life stress. He also has a deep level of experience in helping couples, families and kids work through  the difficulty of relationships, divorce and separation. He provides pre-marital counseling, communication improvement and conflict resolution.

Steven is a trained play therapist, Kimochi facilitator, certified in TFCBT, CBITS, CISM specialist and is knowledgeable with the DSM5 diagnostic manual.

Experience

After completing my music degree in 1995 at Trevecca, I began working in churches as the music guy but soon realized that my heart was more interested in helping people. I continued to do the music, choirs and bands but took on more roles involving the people of the church. I wanted to help people in whatever way I could.  Along the way, I became a volunteer firefighter with the Ashland City Fire Department. I soon realized that this too took on a role of not just a fireman but one that dove into the lives of people in need, including my own fire brothers. I saw how the constant exposure to trauma and crisis affected me and my fire family. I wanted to do more. I joined the International Critical Incident Stress Management organization and found my way to help people deal with trauma, stress and loss. My church role led me to counseling, helping people with grief, loss and divorce. The next thing I know I was on the doorstep of Trevecca beginning my masters in counseling. I focused all my studies on trauma and crisis. Nearing the end of this venture, I found my way to the Nashville Vet Center as an intern and began working with combat vets specifically from the Vietnam Era. I moved from there to Fort Campbell Family Life Center and began working with marriages, families, combat related trauma, readjustment counseling and whatever walked in the door. I answered a call to work at Centerstone and found myself in a complete opposite setting. I sat in a small office at Pleasant View Elementary with all these years of trauma, crisis, war wondering what in the world am I going to do with kids. What is play therapy? My world was turned upside down. I soon developed a play therapy technique and a mojo which allowed me to become a counseling pirate. These awesome kids became my crew. I fell in love working with kids, teens and adults in the educational world.

My wife and I both got involved in a mission organization that sent us to the Philippines 3 times. We built a church one the initial trip but I went back to deliver 100s of set of firefighting gear and offered a basic first responder training. Why? Because I saw that a specific group of people were in need and I could do something about it. The same reason I began to focus less on doing music in church and more on pastoring. I eventually went through an 8 year ordination process in the Nazarene Church and became endorsed as a chaplain.

My exposures and experience have developed in me a unique way of working with people. My fire chief told me once, “Steven, what you do is so different from what we do. We touch people every day and it’s typically a bad day for them, but when you are there you are not touching people but you touch humanity.” This has been my view point for what I do ever since.

My viewpoint on the therapeutic process is simple. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from. It doesn’t matter what your personal views are or where you are heading life. What matters is you and I will do whatever I can, the best I can to help and serve you. If I can find someone that specializes in your need, I will gladly help you make that connection. In my mind therapy doesn’t need to last forever but only as you and I feel it is necessary. We will work together and develop a plan for your success.