Stephanie Cerula, LPCC
Stephanie Cerula is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor providing individual therapy to older adolescents and adults. She has extensive training and experience working with survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, trauma, PTSD, anxiety and depression. Stephanie's clinical orientation is a client-centered, strengths-based approach tailored to each client that utilizes cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy and narrative therapy techniques to empower clients to increase their coping skills to achieve their goals..
Stephanie earned her Master's of Education in Counseling from Old Dominion University and a Bachelor of Arts in Business and Communication from the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to working at the Behavioral Wellness Group, she worked at John Carroll University and Mississippi State University specializing in working with survivors of violence and other mental health concerns.
Contact
Position:
Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and
Daytime Adult Intensive Outpatient Program Facilitator
Address:
8224 Mentor Ave, Suite 208
Mentor Ohio 44060
Email:
scerula@behavioralwellnessgroup.com
Phone:
440-392-2222 EXT 404
Fax:
440-565-2349
Testimonials/Reviews
Testimonial Disclosure Statement: Testimonials herein are unsolicited, anonymous and are received after care has been received in an attempt to assure healthy therapy relationships and confidentiality.
(Stephanie Cerula, Evening Adult Mental Health IOP) “The Evening Adult Mental Health IOP provides a welcoming, safe, and supportive environment in which everyone in group felt empowered to contribute and work on themselves. Stephanie is an amazing IOP leader: caring, genuine, warm, supportive, knowledgeable, and insightful.”
(Stephanie Cerula, Evening Adult Mental Health IOP) “Stephanie is awesome! She listens, cares, is very positive and kind. She helps you see perspectives and she can see your perspectives also. Stephanie is the best. She helped me get through the program.”
“(Stephanie Cerula, Evening Mental Health IOP) Stephanie supports and empowers folks struggling with mental illness. When I met with Stephanie C., for my intake, I had some things come up that made me emotional. Stephanie teared up as well, and she also did once in class when a member brought up some heavy things. Stephanie truly cares about others and it shows. Stephanie also gives great advice to help navigate members using any of the various coping strategies from the course.”
(Stephanie Cerula, Evening Mental Health IOP) “Listen to everyone and provide feedback. I feel the group is a very good
program and I felt it helped me a lot with my issues and taught me skills to use for my issues.”
(Stephanie Cerula, Evening Mental Health IOP) “Stephanie is caring and supportive. She explains the lessons well and takes a vested interest in our lives and the progress we make. I would highly recommend her IOP to anyone struggling with their mental health.”
"Stephanie (Evening Mental Health IOP) The atmosphere of the group is incredible. A mix of supportive, educational, and friendly experiences has made group wonderful. Stephanie is a fantastic group leader. I’m so very thankful for all the support I’ve gotten from IOP groups at The Behavioral Wellness Group. The skills I’ve learned have changed my life for the better and having a safe space to share was more valuable than I expected."
"Stephanie (Evening Mental Health IOP) did a great job teaching us practical skills that are easily understood and able to be incorporated into our lives to help reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. She was skilled at listening, opening the floor to everyone to speak, and monitoring the timing to give everyone fair time. Stephanie continued to impress me with how she could tie what people say back into the Coping Card and lesson plan. Stephanie was always very polite and respectful and knew how to navigate tough conversations skillfully. I was very pleased with the course material and leader and will miss it! I was pleasantly surprised how much I grew to like and look forward to group and even extend my time since I didn’t feel I was ready to graduate. Stephanie was a great host/leader, and I will miss all the connections we made in group and the support of them all. I feel better equipped to keep on pressing forward to deal with my anxiety and will continue to practice the new skills."
"Stephanie (Evening Mental Health IOP) was a great facilitator. She encouraged us to share our thoughts and feelings and to support others. She carefully added her professional thoughts & feedback without telling anyone what to do. The curriculum was great-every session taught me important & useful skills that I am incorporating into my daily routines and that will permit me to thrive mentally & emotionally & physically at home and in the workplace for the benefit of my loved ones, co-workers, clients and for me as well. Keep doing what you’re doing! These have been the most productive 63 hours of my life and truly transformative. I was unsure what I would gain from this when I started (but I jumped in with both feet and hoping for the best). I am amazed at my progress and the new way that I view myself and the world around me. I am a better version of myself-and I cannot thank you enough for the value that you provided me."
(Stephanie Cerula, Evening Adult Mental Health IOP) “This program changed my life. The skills have improved my quality of life and grounded my expectations for my mental health and abilities. The group setting, while remote, was incredibly effective. Bonds were created with others in the group, and I always felt safe. Daily use of the coping card is something I will continue to utilize going forward in support of safety and mindfulness. I would recommend this program to anyone. While the focus is helping people with trauma, stress, depression, and anxiety, the skills and the group setting would likely apply to anyone wanting to improve quality of life.”
"Stephanie does care deeply for all individuals and puts people at ease, takes time to listen and encourage us. She is knowledgeable and well prepared with all our training and she has great empathy for everyone. I was blessed to have had the opportunity to be part of her class Evening Adult Mental Health IOP."
"I had a wonderful experience and feel that my success due to the outline of the program and the support of Stephanie and other participants in the group. Stephanie facilitates the group in an amazing way. I don’t know what I would have done without her."
"(Stephanie Cerula, Evening Adult Mental Health IOP) has an extreme sense of empathy and understanding for her clients. She understands how to communicate especially in virtual space to make sure all clients are appreciated when they are vulnerable."
Articles
“Be curious, not judgmental”
This is a line I most recently heard in the great show, “Ted Lasso“. It occurred when a bet was made with Ted assuming that he was a novice at shooting darts without asking to see if he had played before. Of course, he had been playing for years and ultimately won the bet. It reminded me of the significance of finding out why people do what they do, and why they have become who they became. It is a…
Social Media Addiction
Social media addiction is defined as an unhealthy dependence on interactive platforms such as Facebook, twitter, Instagram, snapchat and Tik Tok. It is often characterized by being overly concerned about social media driven by uncontrollable urge to on or to use social media and devoting so much time/effort that it interferes with other parts of your life. According to a Harvard study, self-disclosure on social media, “lights up” the same part of the brain that also ignites when someone engages…
All or Nothing Thinking and Various Other Popular Cognitive Distortions
I was trying to think of a blog subject to write about this time for my blog. As I contemplated this, I noticed almost everyone in my Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Intensive Outpatient Group (IOP) was talking about their struggle to be perfect, or how they feel like failures if things are not exactly as they think they should be. I was hearing phrases like: All or nothing thinking, often called black and white thinking, can go hand in hand…
COVID update for the reopening of the office
The Behavioral Wellness Group will be returning to the physical office to begin seeing clients in person. This is for those clinicians and clients who prefer in-person sessions. A genuine thank you to all of you who tolerated our necessary move to virtual sessions during the pandemic. Below is a summary generally outlining what to expect upon our return. We will continue to see those who prefer to be seen virtually through our platform using Zoom. Of course, this is…
Self-Compassion: The Science of Kindness
As we say goodbye to 2020 and look ahead to 2021, we can all acknowledge it was a particularly trying year for our nation and the world. According to the American Psychological Association, the compounding stressors of 2020 yielded a national mental health crisis across generations. When situational and societal stressors build, we are left to try and find ways to manage. Some people may reach out to family, some may call upon friends, others may rely on mental health…