Meet Our Therapists
Joe Bucha, Phyllis Kiser, Kim Horner, Michelle Peteet, Thorn Winkler, Stephanie Atkinson, Ash Blanton and Taylor Mason.
Here at Stonegate Counseling Associates, our therapists seek to provide you with excellent care that will help bring healing and wholeness to your life. We are a Christian counseling center located in Athens, Georgia that desires to provide loving and gentle gospel-centered counseling while integrating psychological principles.
Our team includes:
Joe Bucha: a Licensed Professional Counselor who desires to help individuals and couples with the skills, gifts, and abilities God has given him. Joe provides help with issues including sexual concerns, marriage difficulties, anxiety, depression, relational problems, marriage preparation, career and life direction, and spiritual growth.
Phyllis Kiser: a Licensed Professional Counselor who enjoys helping individuals and couples find healing and wholeness through counseling. Phyllis is a sex therapist and has specialized training in human sexuality and in helping people with difficulties related to sex.
Kim Horner: a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Georgia. She believes relationships provide unique opportunities for personal growth, and has a passion for working with teens and adults in the areas of anxiety, depression, relational difficulties and women’s issues. Kim is especially interested in counseling older teenagers, college students and women struggling with low self-worth and body image, excessive worrying, grief and loss, depressed mood, and social, family and other relationship challenges.
Michelle Peteet: a Licensed Associate Professional Counselor with an MA in Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling from Liberty University. She has a heart for coming along side people wrestling with relational and spiritual issues, transition, grief, trauma, depression and anxiety. She also enjoys helping clients work though identity issues towards wholehearted living.
Thorn Winkler: has associate licenses as a Professional Counselor and Marriage and Family Therapist. Thorn works with adult men and women, couples, families, and adolescent males. While he works with individuals and couples experiencing a variety of issues, he is at his best working with clients seeking help for sexual addiction, unwanted pornography use and masturbation, marital conflict and communication problems, sexual abuse recovery, relationship difficulties, depression, anxiety, stress management, codependency, and family conflict. He also enjoys helping clients seeking counseling for personal and spiritual growth and offers premarital and pre-engagement counseling.
Stephanie Atkinson: a Certified Academic Life Coach and a license as a Licensed Professional Counselor. Stephanie helps children, teens and adults with executive functioning skills such as time management, organization, study skills and motivation. Individuals with ADHD, mild autism or executive functioning disorder may also benefit from learning social, emotional, and behavioral management skills. Stephanie provides a wide range of counseling and educational opportunities for individuals, couples and families. She enjoys helping people understand their thinking, learning, and communication styles and using those to strengthen organization, study and life skills.
Ash Blanton: is a Licensed Professional Counselor. Ash has spent over ten years in ministry settings working with high school students, college students, and postgraduate adults. For the past four years, Ash has been working in a school setting with students and families. Ash loves helping people work through anxiety, depression, life and career decisions, and spiritual issues. Ash has a passion for seeing people live the life they are created to live in their minds, bodies, spirits, and souls.
Ash also offers coaching to help clients creatively discover their passions, talents, life vision, and five year goals. He uses an interactive process to help clients discover their unique calling in the world.
Taylor Mason: holds a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and a Graduate Certificate in Child and Adolescent Therapy from Richmont Graduate University. She completed her bachelors degree in Human Development and Family Science at the University of Georgia—Go Dawgs! She currently is pursuing full licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist and a Professional Counselor. She has experience working in community counseling agencies serving high-need populations. She works with couples, families, college students, adolescents, and children. She has experience aiding clients with anxiety, depression, perfectionism, family conflict, discipline, marital reconciliation, codependency, parent/child relationship problems, couple conflict and communication issues.
Our team includes:
Joe Bucha: a Licensed Professional Counselor who desires to help individuals and couples with the skills, gifts, and abilities God has given him. Joe provides help with issues including sexual concerns, marriage difficulties, anxiety, depression, relational problems, marriage preparation, career and life direction, and spiritual growth.
Phyllis Kiser: a Licensed Professional Counselor who enjoys helping individuals and couples find healing and wholeness through counseling. Phyllis is a sex therapist and has specialized training in human sexuality and in helping people with difficulties related to sex.
Kim Horner: a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Georgia. She believes relationships provide unique opportunities for personal growth, and has a passion for working with teens and adults in the areas of anxiety, depression, relational difficulties and women’s issues. Kim is especially interested in counseling older teenagers, college students and women struggling with low self-worth and body image, excessive worrying, grief and loss, depressed mood, and social, family and other relationship challenges.
Michelle Peteet: a Licensed Associate Professional Counselor with an MA in Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling from Liberty University. She has a heart for coming along side people wrestling with relational and spiritual issues, transition, grief, trauma, depression and anxiety. She also enjoys helping clients work though identity issues towards wholehearted living.
Thorn Winkler: has associate licenses as a Professional Counselor and Marriage and Family Therapist. Thorn works with adult men and women, couples, families, and adolescent males. While he works with individuals and couples experiencing a variety of issues, he is at his best working with clients seeking help for sexual addiction, unwanted pornography use and masturbation, marital conflict and communication problems, sexual abuse recovery, relationship difficulties, depression, anxiety, stress management, codependency, and family conflict. He also enjoys helping clients seeking counseling for personal and spiritual growth and offers premarital and pre-engagement counseling.
Stephanie Atkinson: a Certified Academic Life Coach and a license as a Licensed Professional Counselor. Stephanie helps children, teens and adults with executive functioning skills such as time management, organization, study skills and motivation. Individuals with ADHD, mild autism or executive functioning disorder may also benefit from learning social, emotional, and behavioral management skills. Stephanie provides a wide range of counseling and educational opportunities for individuals, couples and families. She enjoys helping people understand their thinking, learning, and communication styles and using those to strengthen organization, study and life skills.
Ash Blanton: is a Licensed Professional Counselor. Ash has spent over ten years in ministry settings working with high school students, college students, and postgraduate adults. For the past four years, Ash has been working in a school setting with students and families. Ash loves helping people work through anxiety, depression, life and career decisions, and spiritual issues. Ash has a passion for seeing people live the life they are created to live in their minds, bodies, spirits, and souls.
Ash also offers coaching to help clients creatively discover their passions, talents, life vision, and five year goals. He uses an interactive process to help clients discover their unique calling in the world.
Taylor Mason: holds a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and a Graduate Certificate in Child and Adolescent Therapy from Richmont Graduate University. She completed her bachelors degree in Human Development and Family Science at the University of Georgia—Go Dawgs! She currently is pursuing full licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist and a Professional Counselor. She has experience working in community counseling agencies serving high-need populations. She works with couples, families, college students, adolescents, and children. She has experience aiding clients with anxiety, depression, perfectionism, family conflict, discipline, marital reconciliation, codependency, parent/child relationship problems, couple conflict and communication issues.