Pam MertenPam Merten, Life Coach and Licensed Professional Counselor - - Helps people discover their freedom in living their own unique God-given design.
- Her clients then become more aware of their choices and evaluate them.
- New boundaries are established: clients in abusive relationships learn to stand up for themselves.
- Clients with addiction choose the path of recovery.
- Those who have been harmed by an abusive religious system discover a renewed spirituality.
- People with unresolved grief are helped to face their losses and heal.
Credentialed for confidence: Pam Merten MS, LPC - Living Your Design founder - has the professional qualifications and personal experience to serve as an effective counseling professional.
Pam is . . .
- a 1993 graduate of University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee with a degree in Educational Psychology - Community Counseling
- licensed by the state of Wisconsin as a Professional Counselor with Substance Abuse Specialty Authorization.
- EMDR trained. *
- a former elementary education teacher.
- married to Chaplain Phil Merten (for 29 years). Together they have a son and daughter who are both married. Pam and Phil have two grandsons.
- LinkedIn
Concepts to Consider:
A. Finding Your Unique Design: Pam believes that all of us were created with a unique God-given design, unlike anyone else’s. Unfortunately, the expectations of family, society and religion often sidetrack us from living out our natural design. This imbalance shows in telltale signs:
- We all too often live out choices that may be right for others but are not right for us.
- We all too often are caught in coping mechanisms that seem to work in the short run, but stand in the way of our long term growth.
- Because of this, we all too often end up with little or no sense of groundedness.
- We lose our God-given sense of self.
- More on Living Your Unique Design
B. *The affects of Negative Past Experiences: How we react to negative past experiences and what we believe about ourselves because of them are usually what keep us from living fully in the here and now.
- EMDR is a therapeutic tool Pam uses to help her clients reconcile with their pasts and to live freely within their designs.
- Pam has experienced the benefits EMDR herself: "It was a God-send. When we reconcile with ourselves we’ll see healthy, positive emotional and behavioral changes that affect every area of our lives."
C. Recognizing Your Spirituality. Spirituality is an important part of maintaining a healthy life balance. When clients choose to discuss spirituality as part of their session, discussion often revolves around:
- "How does your spirituality fit in with how you live your life?"
- "Is your sense of spirituality and your belief about God encouraging you or is it bringing you down?"
- "Have you been harmed by an abusive religious system?"
- "If you have a relationship with God, how would you describe it?"
Along with EMDR, Pam uses both the Enneagram and the 12 Steps of Recovery to aid her clients in their process of Living their Designs - each day at a time.