Adrienne Cooper is the Director of Operations and Program Development for her organization, Lotus Counseling Services. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor who has a vision to help develop strong, confident, fearless, and healthy women. She believes that every woman has the skills/abilities/strengths to reach any goal. Her role is to help women find these goals and overcome any problem she is experiencing. Read what she has to say!
Question: What is Lotus Counseling Services?
Answer: Lotus Counseling Services is a counseling agency that specializes in counseling services for girls, women, and their families by providing individual, family, group counseling as well as seminars and workshops. Our mission is to help all girls and women overcome any obstacles and adversities they are facing in order to achieve their goals through encouragement, enlightenment, and empowerment.
Q: What inspired you to create Lotus Counseling Services?
A: We wanted to create a safe space for girls and women to openly share and work through their problems and difficulties. There is so much pressure on girls today to be the smartest, the prettiest, the coolest, etc, etc that this sets girls up for unrealistic expectations of themselves in turn leading to low self esteem and mental health concerns. At Lotus Counseling, our goal is to assist girls and women in identifying their own unique values and strengths and utilizing those in achieving their specific goals.
Q: What are the most common issues you see in teen girls today?
A: Some common issues we are seeing in teen girls is depression, anxiety, self injury (such as cutting), and drug use. These conditions are being triggered by a variety of factors including cyberbullying, body image issues, low self esteem, unresolved trauma, high stress, and life transitions such as parent divorce. Many times we find the substance abuse is an attempt to self medicate issues like anxiety and depression.
Q: What advice do you have for girls if they have issues that are difficult to deal with?
A: You have to be your own best friend!! If your best friend told you she was depressed or going through a difficult time, would you shame her? Tell her to get over it? Of course not! You would want her to get help and you would want to support her. Life can be very difficult; there is no shame in seeking help. Help can come in many forms such as a parent, teacher, or counselor. So many people are available to help you but you must speak up!
Q: What is the best way for a girl to reach you if she needs help or needs someone to talk to?
A: We can be reached by phone at 205-208-0032. You can also leave us a private, secure message on our website at www.lotuswomenscounseling.com. With a parent’s consent, we can also Skype and text message.
Thank you, Adrienne for participating in this interview!
