Heather Dutcher, Clinical Director, LPC

• Populations Served: older teens (16+), adults, couples, families

• Specialties: anxiety, depression, grief & loss, stress management, pre-marital counseling, marriage counseling, divorce & adjustment, family issues, infidelity, intimacy issues, Rules of Engagement, parenting

• Education:

  • Masters in Counseling (Amberton University)

  • Bachelors of Science in Business Administration (University of Arizona)

• Location: Allen, TX (in person or telehealth)

• Insurance: not accepted

• Self-pay cost: $180 per session

Getting to know Heather

Heather’s passion is to come alongside individuals, couples, and families through the beautiful mess we call life. If you are wrestling with how you relate to yourself -  shame, identity, anxiety, depression, or wrestling with how you relate to others - marital, parenting & co-parenting, family dynamics, communication - you don't have to go it alone.

As a child, Heather grew up in an environment of addiction and generational divorce. Her life experiences, personal journey in counseling, and education have allowed her to develop a unique perspective of how our woundedness, caused from dysfunctional patterns of relating, are carried forward and recast into our adult lives. Recognizing that our experiences become the filter through which we sift and construct our view of self, our approach to life, our capacity love and be loved, and our ability to trust, Heather’s passion is to come alongside those wrestling with shame, identity, self-harm, anxiety, relationship issues, divorce, infidelity, secrecy, emotional abuse, and childhood trauma.

In her spare time, Heather enjoys spending time with family & friends, finding the next piece for her weird art collection, traveling, and all things science fiction. She believes in failed leaps over half steps, ugly laughing at her own jokes, living outside the box, owning her own failures, signing out loud at musicals, apologizing easily, and if it's crazy, to live a little crazy.

Style and Approach

Heather approaches counseling as a come-along-sider, offering a client-counselor relationship that pursues the depths of the client’s heart while simultaneously welcoming all that it finds there. Free from condemnation, judgment, and shame, she offers an environment which beckons one to draw close, discard their masks, and lay bare their scars. Believing authentic freedom requires us to face our pain rather than flee from it, she will lead you towards those wounded places to find Healing, Restoration, and Hope.

Heather is an avid believer that relationships provide a window to the heart of an individual like no other. Our closest relationships tend to reveal our most wounded places. Those hurts, if left unresolved, are carried forward and recast into our patterns of relating. All our experiences, but most particularly our pain, become the filter through which we sift and construct our view of self, our approach to life, our ability to trust, and our capacity to love and be loved.

Family Dynamics Expert

As a mother of six (6) of a blended family; two biological children, three step-children, and one child through an informal adoption, Heather has a passion for strengthening parent-child relationships, facilitating co-parent relationships, and enabling the voice of the young by helping parents see the world through the lens of their child. Whether you are blending your family through adoption, foster care, or re-marriage, or your family dynamics are changing due to divorce, significant childhood milestones, or behavioral problems, Heather would love to sit with you as you traverse this season life.

Premarital Counseling Approach

Heather uses an eclectic approach which borrows from Gottman, Prepare & Enrich, and Rules of Engagement. There are 8 premarital sessions covering: (1) Relationship History & Dynamics (2) Family of Origin & Cultural Influences, (3) Communication/Conflict, (4) Finances, (5) Parenting & Blended Family Dynamics, (6) Faith (7) Sex & Intimacy, and (8) Personal & Relational Goals/Dreams