My name is James "Jamie" Carroll. I grew up in a small, rural community in Central Illinois called Nokomis (supposedly named after an Indian princess). I went into the Army right after high school. I never intended to become a counselor. Toward the end of my enlistment with the Army, I had decided that I wanted to be an airplane pilot. As I researched the requirements to be a pilot, I found out that most commercial airlines wanted you to have a degree as well as a pilot license. I then enrolled in college at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. My father wanted me to major in electrical engineering. However, I thought psychology and philosophy would be more interesting.

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Once I started studying psychology, I was very interested in the way people think. However, once I got my BA degree, I realized there were not that many employment opportunities for me. I got a job as a Resident Counselor at Youth in Need. Here I worked with teenage girls who were in the care of the state. All had been abused and/or neglected. I soon discovered that in order to be a counselor, I needed to get a graduate degree. During this time, I enrolled in the graduate counseling program at Lindenwood University. I then got a job working as a Youth Specialist with the Division of Youth Services. Here I worked with adolescent boys who had been convicted crimes in the juvenile court.

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I then obtained my MA in Professional Counseling. After graduation, I thought if there was anytime to do something crazy it would be now. So I quit my job as a Youth Specialist and moved to Florida. It was in Florida that I obtained my first job as a counselor. I became a substance abuse counselor. I worked about 3 years dealing with adolescents and adults with substance abuse issues.

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I then moved back to Missouri at got a job as a case manager with BJC. I worked adults with severe mental illness. Additionally, during this time, I adopted my son from the foster care system. This experience led me to work with children with attachment issues, trauma, and younger children.

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My focus as a counselor began to shift. As a counselor, I was taught to listen and be supportive. However, I realized that this type of approach was not helpful in working with trauma and attachment issues. I then received training in EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, Internal Family Systems, Theraplay, Dyadic Developmental Therapy, the Oaklander Approach to Gestalt Play Therapy and Child-Centered Play Therapy to further my practice as a counselor. I received enough training to become a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor.  Additionally, in 2019, I went back to graduate school and obtain a graduate certificate in Infant/Family Mental Health from the University of Southern Florida.  

My have two offices.  My Illinois office is located at 1115 Frontage Rd., Suite B; O'Fallon, IL 62269.  My Missouri office is located at 106 Four Seasons Center, Suite 103B; Chesterfield, MO 63017 (close to 141 and Olive). I can be reached at 314-651-6679. Or email at jamie@counselor.hush.com.

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Education

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Graduate Certificate in Infant/Family Mental Health from the University of Southern Florida (’19).

M.A. in Professional Counseling from Lindenwood University (’96).

B.A. in Psychology from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (’94).

 

Licensure and Certifications

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Licensed Professional Counselor (MO) since 2007.

Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (IL) since 2001.

National Certified Counselor (NCC).

Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor (CCMHC).

Master Addiction Counselor (MAC).

Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS).

Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor (RPT-S).

Register Yoga Teacher (RYT-200).