The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Shelle Mathis Counseling Services expands
Shelle M. Mathis Counseling Services announced the opening of a location at 102 and 104 4th St. in Elyria,
Mathis said her path to counseling first started with the small stuff when she was a teenager, when people began to flock to her for advice on dating and extracurricular activities at school.
After six years of providing counseling services in Lorain, Shelle Mathis decided it was time for an expansion. In January, Mathis’s Shelle M. Mathis Counseling Services announced the opening of a location in Elyria, 102 and 104 4th St., in addition to its original location at 1901 North Ridge Road in Lorain. The counseling service is the Christian mental health agency owned and operated by an African American woman in Lorain County Since she draws clients as far out as Akron, Sandusky, Mansfield and Brunswick, Mathis said the expansion was an effort to bring her services a bit closer to the people she serves. “I’m an Elyrian and I know there is a need her in Elyria as well,” she said. “So, my expansion, I wanted it to be in the county. I wanted something a little closer, so people can get to me.” Mathis said her path to counseling first started with the small stuff when she was a teenager, when people began to flock to her for advice on dating and extracurricular activities at school. After receiving an associates degree from Lorain County Community College, Mathis was surprised to hear from her counselor that she had sent an application for Mathis to the Ashland Theological Seminary and was one of two Ohioans chosen for its pastoral counseling program. She was then one of five students from her class who graduated with a Master’s of Arts Degree in Clinical Pastoral Counseling. “It was at that time that I knew the call of counsel was on my life,” Mathis said. “There’s no way she should have done that. There’s no way all of this should have happened.” Her first job in the field was as an intern at Applewood Centers, which then led to opportunities at the Northeast Ohio Recovery Association and The LCADA Way before starting her own profession. Overcoming challenges After receiving challenging clients from her supervisors throughout her career, Mathis said working with youth and adults affected by substance abuse and trauma has shaped her and her approach. “I had hard clients all the way growing up in this profession,” she said. “It’s made me who I am today ... My approach now is more open and it’s more just being real with that client now.” For Mathis, being honest with a client starts with making them feel at home and comfortable when in her office, something that she took into consideration while decorating her new digs in Elyria. “That’s why the offices are set up the way that they are; I’m meeting you where you are” she said. “If I’m not in that place of being able to connect with you, I’m not meeting you where you are.” With about 30 active clients, Mathis does individual, couples and marriage therapy and specializes in substance abuse, trauma, depression and anxiety disorders. She also holds depression, anxiety and substance abuse support groups at her 104 4th St. A playwright herself, Mathis said she utilizes drama and theater for her youth struggling to express their emotions. “I want them to start acting out how they feel,” she said. “Sometimes they’ve been so traumatized that they can’t speak, they’ve lost their voice. “So maybe they can’t tell you on paper, but they can show you in action.” Another pillar in Mathis’s services is diversity and to create a welcoming place for the African American community to find solace. “With the African American community, now they have somebody to trust and feel like ‘Okay, now I’m sitting in front of someone who looks just like me so I can talk slang and not be judged,’” she said. Mathis’s new life coach Daneisha Bradley said Mathis’s ability to listen also provides a welcoming atmosphere. “She counsels me through the counseling of others; I appreciate her,” Bradley said.