Hi, I'm Cindy.
I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the owner of Winchester Counseling Center.
I graduated from the University of Tennessee with a Master of Science in Social Work and have been working in the mental health field for more than 20 years.
For 11 of those years, I worked for a community mental health agency in Nashville. Eventually, I found my way back home to Winchester—the place I grew up and the community that raised me.
For years, I dreamed of opening my own therapy practice.
That dream became a reality in the fall of 2020 when I opened Winchester Counseling Center.
I feel incredibly fortunate that I get to do the work I love in the community I call home.
A little about where my heart comes from:
I grew up on a farm in Franklin County, and if there was an animal that wandered into our yard, chances were pretty good that I was going to try to rescue it.
A stray cat. A rooster. A pig.
Something that was scared, hungry, hurt, or just needed a safe place to land.
Looking back, I think those experiences taught me something that has stayed with me throughout my life:
When something is hurting, you don't turn away. You help if you can.
I've carried that same sense of compassion into my work with people.
I've always had a soft spot for the ones who are struggling—the child who doesn't know how to explain what they're feeling, the teenager who feels like nobody understands them, the parent who is doing everything they can but still feels like they're getting it wrong, or the adult who has spent so long taking care of everyone else that they've forgotten how to take care of themselves.
I don't believe people need judgment when they're struggling.
They need someone who is willing to slow down, listen, and see the person underneath the behavior, the anxiety, the anger, or the pain.
That's a big part of why I became a therapist.