Marion Creighton

My name is Marion Creighton. My passion and free time is spent volunteering where I can help victims of sexual trauma and trafficking. I am a Christian and Christ comes first in my life. Christian counseling is not what I practice for this platform but if you would like me to pray for you or would like to integrate prayer in our sessions please let me know in the messaging portion of the website.

I like to let clients know ahead of time the texting and messaging only part of the plan is not as effective as the video sessions for my style of counseling. My effectiveness is based on the video session vs. just messaging. Please take this into consideration when choosing the Basic plan and me as your counselor.

I have an undergraduate degree from Oklahoma State University in Psychology with a Minor in Spanish. I completed my master’s in counseling psychology at the University of Central Oklahoma. I have been a licensed professional counselor since 2001.

I have counseled clients from all aspects. I started my career immediately after graduate school, with Red Rock Mental Facility in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, counseling schizophrenia and severe psychiatric disorders. In 1998 I moved to Texas to sit for the LPC exam and then began my career counseling adults, children, and adolescents in an outpatient setting.

I worked my way through college as a pharmacy technician, so I am very versed in pharmaceuticals for mental disorders that surround anxiety and depression. This led me to my midlife career with Pfizer Pharmaceuticals where I lived briefly in New York launching a new drug for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

I would consider my approach to counseling to be somewhat eclectic. I use many different therapy techniques depending on the client and their needs. However, my supervisor out of graduate school practiced Cognitive and Cognitive Behavior Therapy, therefore Cognitive Behavior Therapy is where I feel the most comfortable as a therapist and where I see the most results. My style is to begin in cognitive and help the client to understand their behavior and over time move into Cognitive Behavior Therapy and help them learn how to guide themselves into behavior change by helping them make positive life changes. I really try to find physical tangible ways for clients to change their behavior, not just talk about it. In other words, I consider a big part of my job similar to social work. Sometimes clients are depressed/anxious and do not have the energy/focus to find what would help them make a positive change. If this is the case, I like to research or find different ideas to help the person start their positive life changes. Most people cannot afford therapy for life. My goal is to teach a client to positively function without a therapist and become a therapist for themselves with what they have learned in counseling.

There are not many diagnoses, children, or adults that I do not have experience with but in addition to depression and anxiety there are a few that I have more experience in, such as:

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder OCD- People diagnosed with this disorder have unnecessary thoughts, assumptions and beliefs that occur repetitively. As a result, they are driven to act in an uncontrollable and compulsive manner. The failure to perform these obsessive acts makes them anxious and tense. I have watched so many parents treat this with medications. I am not saying there are not some cases where medication is needed but I see really good results in clients by teaching client’s relaxation, mediation, and brainwave entertainment. A client does not always have someone present to help them manage their OCD behavior therefore it is especially important to teach clients coping techniques for the outside world. I make sure I practice these techniques over and over in sessions until it becomes 2nd nature for the client.

Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder ADHD- ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that occurs in children, teens, and adults. Its main symptoms are impulsivity/hyperactivity and inattention. In an adult with ADHD, symptoms of hyperactivity may be less obvious, but difficulties with inattention, poor planning, and impulsivity may persist. These symptoms can always appear, or at various times in life depending on what is happening in that person’s life. Again, some clients need medication to work through this but coping and management skills are still key to managing this diagnosis.

Social Media Addiction – Most clients do not show up with this diagnosis or issue. And it is usually exceedingly difficult for clients to accept this as the cause of their presenting issue. More often they come to counseling for anxiety and depression only to find out the hard news that their anxiety and depression is a result of Social Media Addiction (this can also be video or device addiction). Symptoms present as headaches, anxiety depression and severe compulsiveness. Clients do not realize that social media can trigger a dopamine response in the brain, similar to that triggered by drug or alcohol use. That response can leave you wanting more and unable to stop checking sites or apps. Most often parents come to me with this issue for their children, only to find out mom or dad is also addicted to social media. This sometimes requires the whole family to take steps to decrease time on their phone or computer.
Sports and Athletic Mental Blocks- This is defined as a psychological block that prevents athletes from performing a particular skill they previously could perform. Mental blocks can be easily confused with performance anxiety, as they both consist of a challenging scenario which arises in a sport which forces athletes to either ‘fight’ against the perceived problem or take ‘flight’ and avoid the scenario. Prevalent in baseball pitchers, golfers, and gymnasts. Or in athletes after a severe injury. As a former athlete, I am well versed in helping athletes overcome sports mental blocks by implementing certain cognitive processes and removing the “what if” out of your head through breathing exercises, coping techniques and support from certain individuals.

Other than the above and general depression and anxiety....I have experience with but not limited to are:
• Dementia
• Mental Diagnosis Due to a General Medical Condition
• Substance Abuse
• Schizophrenia
• Anxiety
• Dissociative Disorders
• Sexual and Gender Identity
• End of Life Counseling
• Grieving the death of a loved one
• Marriage and Family Counseling
• Relationship management
• Work and office management
• Eating Disorders
• To much or lack of sleep
• Impulse Control
• Adjustment Issues
• Narcissistic Personality Disorder
• Avoidant Personality Disorder
• Dependent Personality Disorder
• Sex Addiction
• Sexual Abuse as a child or adult
• Anger Management
• Management of Mood Swings
• Violence and Abuse
• Disorders due to physical injury
• Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
• Self Esteem
• Procrastination
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Post Covid Depression/Anxiety
* Gaslighting