By Nicole Reger, MS, CRC, LPC-Intern

Supervised by Katrena Hart, LPC-S

I was nervous and not exactly sure what I was looking for when I called Bridging Harts for the first time three years ago.  I was returning to counseling after a long break and the next steps were hazy, so Katrena invited me to meet her so we could discuss my goals.  What happened next is a series of steps I could never imagine.

Bridging Harts was not hiring at the time, so instead I started at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center where I had completed my Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling.  I served as a Faculty Associate in the Rehabilitation Counseling Department at UTSW for the past few years.  I worked extensively as a group therapy facilitator and supervised graduate students as they developed their counseling skills.

And I kept showing up at Bridging Harts.  I began attending workshops and intensives and then I joined a Psychodrama training group.  My early meetings there were a source of personal and professional growth.  Now I am in my third year of psychodrama training at Bridging Harts.  Psychodrama training allows me to include action methods, which enrich the counseling experience and may yield insights beyond traditional talk-therapy methods.  Through this training, I expand my counseling skills by incorporating role play, spontaneity, and creativity into my sessions.

My interest in continuing my training and action methods also extends to my work with couples.  I am in my second year of training in the Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy (PACT), developed by Dr. Stan Tatkin, that is a fusion of attachment theory, developmental neuroscience, and arousal regulation. PACT has a reputation for effectively treating the most challenging couples.  My couples approach, informed by PACT, includes role play, enactments, and scenes to make couples therapy “doable,” active, and often fun.  

My counseling approach is tailored to each client, integrated theoretically, and dynamic.  I believe the foundation of the counseling relationship is trust, authenticity, and compassion and that success in counseling is collaborative.  I work to establish open communication in a safe environment so together you can uncover patterns in thinking, feeling, or action that are no longer serving you well.  What follows is a cooperative process of shifting patterns to match current values and goals and evaluating progress together.  I balance the hard work of personal change with patience, compassion, and humor.

So if you are thinking of taking that next step, but you are unsure how to get started, I can personally recommend taking that first step.  Make a call, come in for a chat.  What unfolds after that may surprise you. 

About Nicole:

Nicole Reger is a Licensed Professional Counselor Intern (LPC-Intern), supervised by Katrena Hart (LPC-S), and a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC).  She is trained in a variety of therapy approaches, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Person Centered Therapy, Psychodrama, and specialized techniques for couples’ therapy.

Nicole’s education, training, and professional experience allow her to counsel individuals, couples, families, adolescents and teens, and groups.   She earned a Master’s of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW).

She has experience working with adults, couples, and teens struggling with the following issues:

• Mood Disorders
• Marital Conflict and Communication
• Depression
• Anxiety Disorders
• Adjustment Disorders
• Stress Management
• Legal Issues
• Addictions
• Self-Injury

Nicole is also a mother of two growing and active kids (and two loveable but impossible dogs).  She and her husband, Tom, work together to balance personal, familial, and professional roles.  Her parents live in town and she has four brothers and sisters that are spread out across several states and countries.  She appreciates both the joys and the challenges of love, life, and family.

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.”
            ― Wendy Mass, The Candymakers