Life Launch Centers - Anxiety & Depression Counseling Clinic

MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR AGES 11 & Up
DBT, CBT, RESILIENCE TRAINING

The Life Launch Centers Resilience Model© utilizes the most current brain research combined with elements of evidence based intervention models like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy and concepts of the Daring Way© and Rising Strong© curriculum based on Brené Brown's resilience research. Our model for building resilience is easy to teach and implement. The model is very portable and effective with all ages and almost all circumstances.

• Psychological Assessments • General Outpatient • Intensive Outpatient Program • Group Counseling •

CARF International announced that Life Launch Centers has been accredited for a period of three years for its Intensive Outpatient Program. This accreditation decision represents the highest level of accreditation that can be given to an organization and shows the organization’s substantial conformance to the CARF standards. An organization receiving a Three-Year Accreditation has put itself through a rigorous peer review process. It has demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an on-site visit its commitment to offering programs and services that are measurable, accountable, and of the highest quality.

Helping Youth & Young Adults Become Resilient To Todays Unique Challenges

The Program

Healing Communities One Family at A Time
- Deliberate Application of Current Research
- Turning Struggle into Strength
- Authenticity and Connection Leads to Resilience

What Works

Everyone knows that GROUP COUNSELING is the most effective form of therapy. Youth sharing experiences and perceptions with each other, guided by a trained professional inspires an “I’m not alone” attitude. This is an INTENSIVE Out-Patient Program. That means 9 hours of face to face contact each week resulting in much faster progress. The curriculum is on an 8 week rotation which means you can jump in at any time. We help youth identify and reach goals that THEY SET. Each client receives an assessment to make sure they will receive the help they are looking for. Regular family group sessions unify parents with these powerful practices to use at home.

Group Sessions
Group is set up so you're meeting with people close to your own age.
Individual Sessions
Sometimes you just need some one on one with a counselor.
Family Session Groups
Helping families work together to establish healthy and productive communication.

Testimonials

Straight from the horse's mouth! Well...we don't really treat horses. It's just an expression

Most Insurances do Cover

Who Loves Talking To Insurance Companies? - Ooh, Ooh We do! Call now and we'll do a free verification of benefits for you. Your IOP benefit covers treatment. We do a verification of benefits with your insurance company to minimize any out of pocket costs to you. There are 3 components of counseling in the program -

Group Sessions

Group sessions are a shared experience that involves a trained professional and others who are working through similar barriers. This method inspires an “I’m not alone” attitude and can focus on interpersonal relationships or on particular concerns shared by group members. A full range of emotional issues can be introduced in group sessions, including ineffective behaviors, attachments, anxieties, and forms of depression.

Individual Sessions

The clinicians meet individually with participants and or families to collaborate on addressing limitations or conditions preventing the participant from attaining a full quality of life. These sessions are designed to confront barriers that interfere with emotional and mental well-being and aim to increase positive feelings such as compassion, self-esteem, love, courage, and peace. It is a journey of becoming more self-aware.

Family Group Sessions

Real change is brought about by working together with a team. Family group sessions help bring parents and children together by establishing values, goals, and creating accountability. Parents learn the resiliency tools their children are taught in group, so they are able to use them at home and improve communication. The family, participant and counselor decide when the goals have been reached and when participants are ready to graduate from the group.

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Free Self-Assessment

Our Mission

To strengthen communities by helping adolescents, young adults, and families grow the understanding and tools necessary for healing and successfully navigating life’s challenges and transitions.

BEN HARRIS

LSUDC – Ben is a licensed counselor that has been working primarily with youth and young adults since starting his career in 1987. During that time, he has worked in in-patient, residential, wilderness, intensive outpatient, and regular outpatient programs.

He has spent many of those years in management positions including executive director and national director responsible for the safe and effective operations of several programs. He is a strong advocate of helping people gain necessary skills and tools that will empower them to lead happy, joyful, successful lives. He has been married for over 30 years, has three grown children and six grandchildren. His life is dedicated to making families stronger and happier, including his own. He loves reading and traveling.

Kimball DeLaMare

Chief Clinical Director – LCSW Kimball is an experienced clinician, administrator and program developer with over 35 years of experience in providing mental health services to clients in a variety of settings.

Mr. DeLaMare was the founding Board President of NATSAP, a co-founder of several treatment programs and an innovator in treatment delivery. Kimball has visited over 350 programs nationwide and is a regular presenter at national and regional conferences. He is deeply in love with his wife Lisa of 28 years along with his kids and grandkids.

Steve Murdock

Clinical Director – Phd, CMHC It is unusual for someone with over twenty five years of a successful business career to go back to school to train in a new profession, but that is what Steve Murdock did. First enrolling in psychology classes, then obtaining a master’s

degree, and eventually then a PhD in Clinical Psychology. Dr. Murdock has followed a lifelong dream to help families. Steve’s ability to work with trauma survivors, those with addictive behavior patterns, complex family issues, anxiety, depression and other challenges comes not only from life lessons and his graduate education, but also from specific training in EMDR, SMART Recovery, Trauma-focused CBT and other certifications. Dr. Murdock loves his work. From his endless “Dad humor”, his use of his guitar skills and mostly from his deep care and commitment, Steve leads the St. George Life Launch Centers clinical team while training new clinicians and teaching as an adjunct faculty member at a regional university.

Laraine Murdock

LCSW, Laraine is a licensed counselor with 18 years of experience. Treatment modalities include Motivational Interviewing, CBT, DBT and is trained in EMDR, Equine Therapy, and Smart Recover working in residential and outpatient settings.

Laraine has an MA in Sociology that enhances her multimodal approach. She specializes in working with anxiety, depression, trauma, and anger management. In a collaborative approach, she connects with each client to build a plan that will help them to practice, learn, and build resilience with distress tolerance tools to deal with the stressors of life. Most recently she has worked with neurodiverse adolescents helping them to build skills and problem solving to deal with daily life. Laraine enjoys spending time with her husband and five children adventuring and being in the outdoors.

Mike Flint

CMHC, Clinical Director -From experiences as a teenage summer camp director to teaching martial arts for over a decade Mike has been able to blend leadership and experiential teaching talents into his therapeutic approach.

Mike’s training in cognitive behavior therapy, dialectical therapy and group dynamics have allowed him to be able to work with individuals and families who are struggling with mood disorders such as anxiety and depression along with those who have experienced severe trauma and loss. He holds special certifications in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and gets a lot of satisfaction working with clients who have struggles in this area. Mike continues to teach and participate in martial arts while enjoying his newer role as a father alongside his wife.

Sarah Allred

Sarah is a master’s level intern completing her degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Grand Canyon University. Sarah received her bachelors from Utah Valley University in Behavioral Sciences with an emphasis in Psychology.

She spent the last few years working at a residential treatment center for at-risk youth and came to love the relationships she got to build with them and helping them grow through their struggles. Sarah centers her therapy around compassion and positivity, finding the strengths in others to help them succeed. She enjoys hiking and camping in the warmer months and hot chocolate and a good book or movie in the colder ones.

Davee Chandler

LCSW, Davee began his career as a Youth Advocate, working with at-risk youth in their homes, over 30 years ago. Davee has been a powerful advocate and change agent for those experiencing severe trauma, early childhood crises…

…adult and adolescent addiction, and a variety of mental health challenges. With over a decade of training students in university settings where Davee was regularly voted as the Educator of the Year. His work as a founding member of Bikers Against Child Abuse (B.A.C.A.) and other advocacy organizations continues to further the support for families. As an outdoor enthusiast, you can find Davee mountaineering, biking, taking gorgeous nature photos and introducing friends and clients to the beauties of Utah.

LESLIE VANDEMERWE

LCMHC Throughout Leslie’s professional career, she has worked with all ages in a variety of settings including residential, in home family preservation, private practice and outpatient therapy. Leslie has extensive experience working…

with depression, self-harm, anxiety, OCD, PTSD/Trauma, bipolar disorder and eating disorders. She incorporates a variety of treatment modalities in including, DBT, CBT, IFS and EAP. Leslie uses her ability to empathize and connect with others to assist them in the process of owning their own stories, embracing their vulnerabilities, healing, and in finding purpose and joy. Leslie enjoys spending time with her three kids, camping, hiking and running.

Josh Myers

MS, ACMHC, graduated from Walden University’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. He has training in DBT and previously worked in a treatment center with adolescent girls ages 12-18.

Josh enjoys learning new things and has more hobbies than he has time. He is always looking for something new to try and usually ends up lost in that for a few weeks. Josh has a wife and three kids who make him the happiest man on the planet

Paula Frehner

CSW – Paula has a master in administration of education and social work. She is a therapist in the St. George Center that specializes in working with anxiety, depression and ADD.

Paula enjoys spending time with her 4 kids and her husband, mountain biking, jet-skiing, reading, and meeting new people.

Sunni Brann

Sunni is the Administrative Assistant in the Life Launch Centers location in St. George,Utah. She has 20+ years customer service experience in the medical and pharmaceutical industry.

I love to be in a setting where I am of assistance to whatever is needed. I’m a mom to 5 kids, 3 who are adults now, so I know how hard it can be to navigate your way as a parent with our kids. I love learning about the Resilience Model and how I can apply it in my life. St. George is a beautiful area and I love being in the desert and exploring the red rocks and learning about the history of people that settled here.

JONI DYCHES

Financial Director – With over 20 years of finance experience, Joni brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to Life Launch Centers. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management with an emphasis in Accounting.

Joni provides management, control and administration for all financial operations of the program. Joni manages all client accounts including processing insurance claims and handling individual payment options. Helping those struggling with anxiety and depression hits home for Joni as her own children have been able to overcome it with the principles taught at Life Launch Centers.

Joe Newman

Director of Business Development – Joe has a BA in Human Development and Family Studies and an AS in Business & Marketing. After nearly 20 years in marketing he finally found how those two degrees go together.

Joe is a professional photographer, video producer, design artist and has an extensive background in advertising. Joe’s greatest achievement and joy is raising his 8 children with his amazing wife, Emily. They live to play with their kids on the boat, coaching wrestling, going to football games, dance recitals and making music together.

ARDEN SMITH

MBA, ALSUDC – Arden is a licensed counselor with experience in secure-care, residential, and outpatient environments. Arden has an MBA in Healthcare Management and has worked from severe psychiatric to substance abuse treatment.

He also served as the chair of the residential best practice committee of a large corporation and helped develop and implement best practice standards for several residential programs. He enjoys and is committed to spending time with his large blended family and became a very happy grandfather in 2017. He has an eye for detail and loves to build. Working with his hands is good therapy.