About True Self Journey

You may have ended up here because you’re searching for something. Maybe you’re looking for answers. Or perhaps you’re seeking support.

There are many reasons why you and others are searching. Here are a few possibilities:

• There are some things (maybe a lot of things) in life that aren’t working for you. Something has to change, but you aren’t sure how to make that happen.

• You’ve done a lot of personal growth work—therapy, maybe a 12-Step Fellowship—and it has been good. Things are different for you; perhaps you feel better and understand your story a bit more. But it seems as if you’re stuck or have reached a plateau, yet you know there’s more healing available for you. You just don’t know how to get there.

• You love all things personal growth and development. Thoughtful introspection is your jam. And you want to continue on your path of authentic growth.

Whatever the reason, we’re glad you found us.

True Self Journey is a place to find community, tools and resources to enhance your personal growth experience. And it is founded on the belief that the True Self Journey is an inward adventure. There’s no pinnacle to reach, no standard to meet. The real, authentic, whole, delightful you already exists. You only need to allow room for it to emerge.

About Beth Ratchford 

My hope for True Self Journey is that it will be a place of support and resources both for those on a healing journey as well as for professionals. I want to shout from the mountaintops that there is lasting healing and change available and this is my way of doing that. I’ve been in the helping profession for over 20 years and have come to realize that most people who are seeking a healing path have experienced some level of trauma. And I’ve also realized that dealing with the impact of that trauma is a path to transformation that lasts a lifetime. And that’s what I want to point people toward through True Self Journey.

The therapisty (yes, a made up word) information about me is that I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a Masters in Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Master of Arts in Counseling from Western Seminary. I specialize in working with adults who have experienced childhood trauma.  I’ve trained with Pia Mellody in the Post Induction Therapy model of developmental trauma and I use it as the primary framework in my clinical work. I also am trained in the use of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) for treating trauma and other difficult life experiences. And last, but definitely not least, I am an EAGALA (Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association) certified mental health specialist and provide Equine Assisted Psychotherapy services.  

Some non-therapisty info about me: I have a rescue pup named Maisie that is hilarious and a great adventure buddy. Being out in the woods is one of my places of sanity. Another is being with horses whether it’s hanging out, riding or scooping poop. I love reading novels. Henri Nouwen is my desert island author. I am obsessed with South Carolina Gamecocks Women's Basketball. And I’ve been on my own True Self Journey for decades so I'm traveling right along with you.

 

*Photo credit: Sharon Hallman Photography