Jerushah Nickell

Jerushah Nickell was born in Winchester Kentucky and moved the Austin Texas in 2021. She grew up in a large family where mental illness was a pervasive but mostly unacknowledged presence. In her community at the time, mental illness was a highly stigmatized concept. Without easy access to mental health support, Jerushah developed a great appreciation for the importance of family and relationship in mental health, as well as a desire to make mental health services available to those who might not normally have access to them.

Jerushah graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a Bachelor’s of Arts in studio art and a minor in art history. Following graduation, Jerushah worked for a few years managing a coffee shop in her local college town. As anyone who has worked in (and enjoyed) food service will tell you, the draw is really being able to connect with customers. It is an honor to get the opportunity to hear people’s stories and to become a brief part of their lives over a cup of coffee. It was through this experience that Jerushah decided the natural next step for her would be to become a mental health counselor. Jerushah attended Colorado Christian University received her Master’s of Arts in clinical mental health counseling in 2022.

Because of Jerushah’s own experiences with depression and anxiety, this makes her a naturally good fit to work with those who struggle with these difficult and complex mental health issues. Working for so long in a field where listening was the most important skill, Jerushah has familiarity with any number of mental illnesses and situational struggles. Over the course of her training Jerushah began to recognize the role of trauma in diverse mental health struggles. Trauma does not have to look like one major event, it has been described as “too much too fast, or too little for too long”. Trauma is complex, sometimes it’s obvious and sometimes it can come as a surprise to us. Each person’s hurts and hang-ups are unique, and she approaches all of her clients with empathy, acceptance, genuine curiosity, and care. 

When individuals meet with Jerushah, they can expect to spend some time in early sessions learning and practicing tools to restructure their struggles through a treatment theory known as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT has the benefit of being quick acting and is highly collaborative.

When someone comes in for their first session, the first thing Jerushah will want to know are their goals for therapy and the client’s preferences for how to get there. Once there are some coping mechanisms in place, there is more room to dive into the deeper roots of struggle including trauma, relational struggles, family of origin dysfunction, cracks in self-esteem. This is in line with a more psychodynamic approach to counseling.

At the end of the day, though, what matters to Jerushah is that she can find the best method of treatment for each person’s unique strengths and struggles. Her approach to counseling is collaborative, and she believes that the person with the key to success is ultimately the client. The process of counseling is painful, and it will probably feel worse before it gets better. Jerushah believes that her role as the therapist is not to give advice or all the answers but instead, to get down in the trenches with her clients and help them find their way out.

Jerushah resides in Austin TX. She loves dogs (particularly her border collie mix Ruby), making coffee for friends, watching reruns of The Office, hiking, road trips, her church, and finding every opportunity to spend time with her four brothers spread out all over the US and her little sister back in Kentucky.

She offers in-person counseling sessions and is also available via telehealth to individuals seeking help in other Texas locations.