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, pre-marriage, career and life direction, and spiritual growth.
Michelle Highfield: a Licensed 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: a Marriage and Family Therapist and Professional Counselor and is a member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy and an associate member of the American Board of Christian Sex Therapists. 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 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.
Taylor Mason: a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Professional Counselor as well as member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT) and American Association of Christian Counselors. Taylor works with adults, couples, family, and adolescents. She works with her clients on a variety of concerns, most of her clients seek support for anxiety, perfectionism, family conflict, codependency, parent/child relationship problems, couples conflict and communication concerns, miscarriage support, pre/postnatal concerns, life transitions, and PTSD. Taylor also enjoys premarital and preengagement counseling.
Alison Cooley: a Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist and a Licensed Associate Professional Counselor. Alison works with individuals and families regarding issues of eating disorders, trauma/PTSD, anxiety, relationships, self-esteem/worth, and identity. She specializes in treating anxiety, eating disorders, difficult relationships, and trauma.
Chaz Ripley: An intern earning his Master's in Mental Health Counseling from the University of the Cumberlands. He believes all individuals have a unique and innate ability to move toward emotional and mental health. Through collaboration, acceptance, and encouragement, Chaz hopes to facilitate a process that leads to sustained growth, healthy development, and personal healing. Chaz works with various clients, including children, adolescents, young adults, adults, and couples. With a background as an elementary and middle school educator, he has a unique passion for helping children and adolescents thrive.
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, pre-marriage, career and life direction, and spiritual growth.
Michelle Highfield: a Licensed 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: a Marriage and Family Therapist and Professional Counselor and is a member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy and an associate member of the American Board of Christian Sex Therapists. 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 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.
Taylor Mason: a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Professional Counselor as well as member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT) and American Association of Christian Counselors. Taylor works with adults, couples, family, and adolescents. She works with her clients on a variety of concerns, most of her clients seek support for anxiety, perfectionism, family conflict, codependency, parent/child relationship problems, couples conflict and communication concerns, miscarriage support, pre/postnatal concerns, life transitions, and PTSD. Taylor also enjoys premarital and preengagement counseling.
Alison Cooley: a Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist and a Licensed Associate Professional Counselor. Alison works with individuals and families regarding issues of eating disorders, trauma/PTSD, anxiety, relationships, self-esteem/worth, and identity. She specializes in treating anxiety, eating disorders, difficult relationships, and trauma.
Chaz Ripley: An intern earning his Master's in Mental Health Counseling from the University of the Cumberlands. He believes all individuals have a unique and innate ability to move toward emotional and mental health. Through collaboration, acceptance, and encouragement, Chaz hopes to facilitate a process that leads to sustained growth, healthy development, and personal healing. Chaz works with various clients, including children, adolescents, young adults, adults, and couples. With a background as an elementary and middle school educator, he has a unique passion for helping children and adolescents thrive.