Aphrodite Beidler, PsyD
 

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Doctor of Psychology, January 2022

California Southern University, CA

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Master of Arts in

Counseling Psychology, May 2003

Lenoir-Rhyne College, Hickory NC

 

Master of Education, May 1991

University of Edinburgh, UK

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Bachelor in Education, May 1985

Pedagogical Academy, Greece

My clients have always inspired my endless need for figuring out the dynamics of human behavior and relationships. One of the things that new clients share, is that finding the right therapist is hard and knowing something about the therapist’s background would help. Here is a bit about my background.  

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I was born and raised in Greece. I graduated from college in 1985 with an Elementary School Teacher degree and taught school as my parents did before me. After teaching for a few years however, I realized there was so much more to learn about learning styles and family dynamics that affect students' learning.

 

I was thrilled to be accepted at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland for a Master's in Educational Psychology. That’s where I discovered the power mental health counseling had to help students and parents. Starting a doctorate in counseling psychology had to remain on hold however, because I fell in love, got married and moved to the US. Soon after that our young family moved to Toronto, Canada for work and school. A few years later we moved to Hickory, NC and worked at Lenoir-Rhyne University, a liberal arts Lutheran school in a graphic southern town, with magnolia trees and mild weather.

 

I went back to school for counseling licensure, obtained a second Masters and had the opportunity to work as Director of Career and Personal Development at LRU, providing counseling and career support to college students. In 2007, our family moved to Seattle. There, I worked at the Moore Center, a clinic for Eating Disorders in Bellevue.

 

However, life became complicated and our marriage fell apart. My son was 10 years old when his dad and I divorced and the two of us came to live in Richland. As a single mom I needed to make sure there was food on the table. In 2009 I started a private practice (Riverwalk Counseling) and worked at WSU as a mental health counselor until May 2020. Now, I work full time at Riverwalk Counseling doing my best to serve the needs of  individuals, groups, and local businesses.

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Being a mental health counselor demands not only constant deepening of understanding human behavior but also active participation in the field. I often pursued training including Anger Management, Mediation Training, Clinical Hypnosis, Couple’s Therapy. After my son left for college it was time to finish what I started a long time ago, a doctorate in psychology. I was accepted at the California Southern University. Five years later, I graduated after defending my dissertation on burnout in the US medical system.  

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Thank you for your interest in my background story. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to click on the Contact Us button below.