Nicole Daniels, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, recently opened a new counseling center to serve the needs of Oneida County.  She will be working with Tyler Cook, Licensed Master Social Worker, Monday through Friday.   Valley View Counseling is located in Suite 2 next to the Pines in Malad.  

Daniels explained that one counselor in town (Jodi Barnes) had recently left, and both she and Jody Owens expressed a belief that there was a further need for mental health counseling services in the community, as they both had waiting lists that stretched out into the months.

“So that was an opportunity for me to hop in.  I specifically provide counseling to individuals, couples, and families.  I specialize in trauma, anxiety, and grief and loss,” Daniels explained.  “My specialty area with my Masters was marriage, couples, and family, and I received a lot of training on providing services to those folks.  Since I graduated, I’ve received additional training and supervision specific to trauma.”

One of her previous experiences was at a center in which trauma was a central issue.  “I worked at a child advocacy center in Pocatello, where we worked with kids that had been sexually abused.  During my time there, they trained me in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing as a trauma treatment,” she said.  In brief, EMDR allows the brains of trauma victims to process their trauma in a safe and effective way using bilateral stimulation.  Daniels explained the process as similar to the way that brains process material during REM sleep.  In the case of trauma, the brain is unable to resolve the memory or issue without external assistance, which is where the counselor comes in.  This can be used to help patients come to resolution with childhood trauma, events like accidents, divorces, abuse, and many other situations.

In her experience working in this area (Daniels worked at Malad Elementary School as a counselor prior to opening her clinic, which has been open since the summer), Daniels says that she has seen a lot of “anxiety.  Also, a lot of people processing grief.  We work with a lot of children—we see kids, teenagers, and adults.  But we do see a lot of children suffering from anxiety or ADHD.”  

Rather than describe a profile of a person who would likely benefit from counseling, Daniels uses a list of questions to allow people to make that determination for themselves.

“Are you struggling to function at work or at school in your everyday life?  Are you struggling with relationships?  Are you having flashbacks of past trauma?  Are you struggling with parenting?  Do you suffer from depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts?  Those are some of the questions I would suggest people ask to see if it might be right for them.  For anyone who has thought about counseling before but was scared away, it’s not as scary as you think.  We’re a safe place for you to talk and get the help you need.”

She advises people who are considering counseling to call the office, and speak with she or Tyler.  “Before anyone ever comes in, I do a free fifteen minute conversation with them over the phone to see how we can best help them.”

The idea of anxiety as an issue with a big presence in Oneida County might be surprising to some, but probably familiar to most.  Anxiety as a national issue has been noted to have steadily increased over the years, with spikes related to events such as school shootings, politically violent rhetoric, and mass social events like the COVID lockdown.

“The world has changed in the last decades,” Daniels said.  There is more violence, even in the schools.  It’s not uncommon to hear about kids threatening each other.  The ways that parents are encouraged to be ‘kinder and more understanding’ sometimes comes into conflict with expectations for things like going to school.”  Daniels pointed to the reality of lockdown drills in schools, which is something many adults never experienced, but can serve as a major stressor, or reminder of trauma, for today’s students, as drills are required throughout the year.

Another issue that adds anxiety to many people’s lives, and especially young people, is social media, which can allow avenues for bullying at the extreme end of things, but also create unreasonable expectations, points of comparison against others, and a sense of never being caught up or ‘good enough’ in social environments.  “There are third, fourth and fifth graders that have unsupervised social media access, and it’s terrifying for kids to have access that young.  Nothing is filtered and anyone can post anything.  It’s also constant, in that sense that it is always available and kids can get ‘addicted’ to it.  One way that kids process information is by acting it out, and so there is a real problem with social media providing bad models for action in many cases.”

While the center will provide services specifically catered to families and children, she will also be providing services to adults.  “The other thing we provide is group counseling.  We are trying to put together a group right now and we’re looking for individuals ages 18-35.  People struggling with anxiety and depression and looking for help from others,” Daniels said.  Anyone interested in the group setting can contact the Center for information about joining.  The group will meet Monday nights at 7:00 p.m. once it gets going.  The group will provide information about dealing with the issues, but also time for in-group discussions. 

The center also provides a variety of services through Telehealth platforms in case there are those who would rather receive counseling that way. 

Daniels said that the clinic accepts most insurance, including Medicaid.  The clinic has some openings at present, and is accepting new clients at the moment. 

Nicole or Tyler can be reached through voice or text at 208-609-3010 or valleyviewcounseling.co.