Natasha Busscher, MS, LLC

Phone: 616-426-9034, ext. 649
Email: nbusscher@secondstorycounseling.com

MS Clinical Mental Health Counseling - Divine Mercy
University

MA in Journalism from Moscow State University

My story began many years ago in a faraway land. Even as a little girl, I found the greatest joy in meeting new people and listening to their life stories. In the earlier chapters of my life’s chronicles, I became a journalist, later a wife and a mother of three children. I moved across the ocean and gradually fell in love with my new country. When I look at the narrative of my life, I think about my past with gratitude. I love being a counselor. It is a huge privilege to be let inside my clients’ personal world and to walk with them side by side on their path to healing.

When I'm not working, I enjoy hiking with my husband, gardening, reading, cooking for friends, and having long phone conversations with my adult children. I am equally in love with dogs and cats. I am also a nerd who loves to learn about the human brain. I am bilingual and I think both in English and Russian.

My Approach

My approach to counseling is holistic. I pay attention to my clients’ psychological, physical and spiritual well-being. Holistic psychotherapy attempts to understand and address the ways issues in one aspect of a person can lead to concerns in other areas. I am interested in the therapeutic potential of nature and the perspective of various nature-based interventions for the benefit of mental health. Though my favorite approaches to therapy include ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), EMDR, and Mindfulness, I am a person-oriented therapist who uses a variety of evidence-based approaches for my client's benefit.

What you can expect

Many years of research have demonstrated that one factor, more than any other, is associated with successful treatment. This factor is the quality of the relationship between the therapist and the client. I will create a safe, warm, welcoming space in which we will work together as a team. I believe in therapeutic alliance with shared goals of the treatment and choosing methods to achieve this goal. I will be present with you every step of your journey and I promise to share the most useful tools I have in my counseling “toolbelt” to help you to repair what needs to be repaired. I will always respect the uniqueness of your story and your freedom to choose the path that is distinctively yours.