By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
A marriage and family therapist is opening a new practice in the Hadley Center in Hays.
Kaylan Garcia, 25, is the owner of Whole Hearts Counseling. She earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Fort Hays State University before attending Oklahoma State University and earning her master's degree in marriage and family therapy.
While she was attending FHSU, she worked at the High Plains Mental Health's Schwaller Center doing crisis intervention.
She worked in two group practices in Denver for about a year and a half.
"Denver was hard to feel that sense of community in such a big place," she said. "Coming back to Hays, I have friends and family who live around here.
"I also knew there was a need for more couples therapists here. ... It felt like a really good place to grow my practice and serve this community. It felt like a good place to come back to."
Garcia specializes in couples counseling but provides some individual therapy.
"I do a lot of work with couples who say, 'We just want to reconnect. We feel we've lost ourselves in our relationship,'" she said.
She also helps couples improve communication skills and learn conflict management.
While Garcia was attending Fort Hays State University, she was in a couple's group through a church with her husband. She said it was then she decided she wanted to specialize in couples counseling.
Garcia uses a variety of techniques with couples, including emotionally focused therapy, the developmental model and the Gottman method.
These processes help couples deepen connections, learn practical communication skills, learn to self-soothe and to not take on others' emotions.
She likes to give homework to help couples continue to work through issues when they are at home.
Therapy frequency depends on the couple, but Garcia recommends starting with sessions, which are 50 minutes, every other week. The duration of counseling also can vary widely but can often last from eight to 20 sessions.
Duration is very dependent on what couples what to get out of their sessions, she said.
Couples counseling is not always covered by insurance. Garcia is accepting private pay only now but is working toward accepting Blue Cross Blue Shield. She has a sliding-fee scale and said she doesn't want cost to be a barrier for couples to receive counseling.
Garcia and her husband have been married for four years. They have no children. Garcia, who has only been back in Hays for two weeks, said she is looking forward to reconnecting with the community.
Whole Hearts Counseling's office is in Suite B of the Hadley Center in Hays. This is on the center's first floor on the west side.
Her hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays. She said she has some flexibility in scheduling outside of those hours.
She is accepting new clients. All sessions and client information is confidential.
She offers a free 15-minute consultation that allows clients to determine if she is the right fit for their needs.
To book an appointment, you can search for Garcia by name on psychologytoday.com under its "Find a Therapist" tab. You also can book directly on her website at wholeheartsks.com.
You also can follow Garcia on Facebook, reach her by phone at 720-515-4213 or by email at [email protected].