Nicole Nielsen, MSEd, LAC

How I Approach Therapy:

Have you noticed the same painful patterns showing up again and again in your relationships, no matter how hard you try to break them? Do you feel like you're carrying everyone else's emotional weight while quietly running on empty yourself?

If that sounds familiar, you're in the right place.

I'm Nicole, a Licensed Associate Counselor working with teens, adults, and couples both in office in North Central Phoenix and virtually throughout Arizona. My work centers on the relationships between us and within us, helping people identify the patterns that no longer serve them and move through anxiety, sleep struggles, trauma, parenting challenges, and life transitions with more clarity and compassion for themselves.

I spent over thirty years working in education and psychology, first as a special education teacher, then as a school psychologist, before moving into counseling. That path gave me a deep understanding of teens and families navigating school, identity, and home life all at once, and it showed me how deeply our early relationships and environments shape the way we cope, connect, and see ourselves. It's what draws me toward treating the whole person, not just the symptom in front of me.

My work as a trauma-informed therapist is grounded in ACT, CBT, DBT skills, Solution-Focused Therapy, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for couples, Attachment Theory, somatic approaches, and polyvagal-informed regulation, as well as elements of IFS. Developing the clinical picture that reflects your unique lived experience is a priority for me. Together, with curiosity and compassion rather than judgment, we'll explore the pieces that make up who you are and build toward something more sustainable.

I help Teens (13+) and Adults who:

• Struggle with anxiety, high-functioning or otherwise

• Are carrying the weight of past trauma

• Have trouble sleeping or feel stuck in restless, dysregulated patterns

• Keep finding themselves in the same patterns across different relationships

• Are navigating a life transition or a season of life that no longer fits who they're becoming

• Feel like they're carrying too much and starting to burn out

I help Couples and Parents who:

• Feel stuck in the same cycles of conflict or miscommunication

• Want to rebuild trust or emotional safety after it's been shaken

• Are navigating a major transition together, including changes to family or parenting roles

• Struggle to feel connected amid the demands of daily life and parenting

• Want to strengthen communication and reconnect emotionally

• Are navigating challenges faced within a school system such as 504, IEP etc.

A Little About Me:

I'm a mom of three teenagers, so I understand the chaos, the struggle, and the unconditional love and patience it all requires.

I'm a certified yoga teacher and practitioner, and I bring that same grounded, embodied approach into the therapy room as a somatic therapist.

When I'm not working, you'll usually find me at one of my kids' sporting events, outdoors with my dogs at my side, chasing waterfalls, or in a yoga studio somewhere. I'm also a lifelong learner, always building on what will help me understand people, and myself, a little better.