Julie Cummins, LCSW

Sleepless nights, panic, depression, helplessness…there's got to be a better way. So much anger and resentment. Relationships falling apart. Life shouldn't have to hurt all the time and be so difficult. As someone who is experienced in working with complex PTSD, panic, depression, and anxiety, let me help you walk through your struggles, giving you the tools and support you need to get through them. Don't just survive; Thrive!

Move forward toward life. You’ve put up with this far too long. Existing and struggling are not living. It’s time to uncover the real you and feel the freedom from loving and caring for yourself so you can genuinely love and care for the people in your life. Honor your small inner voice. You know that voice. It is the one that timidly whispers, “I can do this. I am worth something.” This inner voice sent you here, looking for help so you can move past the pain, find the wonder in today, and look forward to the future.
Honor your body. There are aches and pains that your doctor can’t explain. What if they are your body trying to tell you there is a problem in your soul? Modern medicine has us broken into pieces – pulmonologists, cardiologists, podiatrists, and psychiatrists. But you are one fantastic creature, everything flowing together. When one part of you hurts, it affects the rest of you. Healing the soul can change the body. You can do this.
In relationships, we find pain or peace, hurt or happiness, rejection or acceptance. When another person acknowledges and gently accepts our weaknesses, hurts, and shame, it frees us to discover who we truly are and were meant to be. That acknowledgment gives us the strength to put ourselves out there and know it will be okay.
I would be honored to walk this journey with you. Let’s walk the journey together. Utilizing your strengths (you may not realize how strong you are!) and targeted therapies, I will help you learn how to care for your mind, body, and soul in a way that honors you and frees you to be happy and content. Integrative mental health that harnesses the power of nutritional and complementary medicine, combined with therapies like EMDR, CBT, and Brain Spotting, can help move you to a place of healing and joy.

Anxiety and Panic!
“How long can I go on like this?” There are those long sleepless nights – worrying about anything and everything. Even when things are good, it never seems to end. Your life is in shambles, getting harder and harder to keep it together. The harder you try, the more overwhelming it feels. You want your brain to turn off – even five minutes would be a relief.
“I thought I was dying.” Out of the blue, you felt your heart start racing. You couldn’t get your breath as your throat seemed to close off. Then, you started to shake and cry hysterically. Your chest started to tighten – making breathing difficult. It was terrifying! You didn’t know what was happening and headed straight for the hospital.
“It’s all in your head.” That’s what the ER doctor said. “It’s not a heart attack. You’re not dying. There’s nothing physically wrong with you.” That’s all well and good, but it sure felt like you were dying. Now you feel stupid. Then it happens again and again. You wonder, “What do I do? Why does this keep happening? What is wrong with me? Am I going crazy? Everything is going great, and it still happens.”
Gaining relief is where therapy can help. Panic can be so debilitating and exhausting. By learning how to calm your body (in about two minutes), you can then learn how to calm your mind (that takes longer). Finding out the root causes of anxiety can take some time. Often, it is like peeling an onion. Once you peel through one layer, there is another layer. Other times, it’s like dominoes. You knock one thing down, and two or three things go with it. Wading through all the messiness of life can be downright, well… messy. But gaining a calmer, more peaceful life where you feel in control is worth the effort.

Parents, does this sound familiar?
“I swear, my child does things on purpose to make me want to scream. It’s exhausting. His room is a pigsty. Actually, pigs wouldn’t live in there. I’m sick of telling him to clean it up. All I do is yell and punish him; I feel so guilty.”
“She gets frustrated so easily; now, I always feel frustrated.” “She is so disorganized – she spends more time looking for things than anything else! If she would just put things back where they belong.” “Why can’t he be normal? He never does what he is supposed to do and does everything he isn’t supposed to do. Can’t he just be quiet? Does everything have to have a running commentary?”
The challenges never cease. Sometimes, you worry that no one will like your child because they cause so much chaos. It makes you feel sad and helpless, causing you to agonize, “But what can I do?” It seems like the school calls every day about something regarding your child’s behavior or performance. Frustrated you think, “If the school calls me one more time, I am going yo just scream.” She is so loving and wonderful sometimes – you live for those moments. And then, she looks you straight in the eye and lies with the sweetest face.
Dealing with all this can make you feel like a failure as a parent. Everyone tells you to spank him more, but that never works. Nothing you do ever seems to work for more than a minute. Kids with ADHD know how to push your buttons. They push buttons we never even knew we had! Our other kids are OK, so what’s the problem? ADD /ADHD are real issues.
Unfortunately, we call everything ADD in today’s world when it may or may not be that. It’s depressing and stressful, and the whole house seems to be in an uproar. If you have more than one ADD kid, you know everything becomes quadrupled! As someone who has lived in a house FULL of ADD kids, I know how it feels. I never wanted to be a “bad mom,” but I felt like it. And as a therapist, I’m supposed to know better, right? If only it were that easy.
So, I researched everything under the sun, trying to find answers. I failed some, succeeded some, and learned more than I ever wanted to. Let me share that knowledge and experience.
As a therapist with personal and professional experience dealing with ADD children, I can walk with you on your journey through parenthood with your ADD child. Dealing with your determined, stressful, amazing, unique, loving, fabulous, trying kids can go smoother than my journey by utilizing my knowledge, experience, and support. My work focuses only on the moms and dads – not the kiddos. But you will both be winners by giving you the tools to manage yourself and parent your child. I love that saying in Forest Gump: “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.” The statement is so true with these kids. Chocolate with coconut (yuck), chocolate with cherries (yummy), and just plain chocolate are all part of Life. But no matter what, there is always chocolate, so it can’t be all bad, right?
Struggling with depression makes life miserable.
“I get so tired of pretending I’m OK when I’m not.” Jeri* has struggled with depression all her life. “Nothing was ever good enough.” Her dad, whom she adored, killed himself, and her mom and siblings blamed her. Her first husband died in a tragic accident, and her second husband keeps spending all their money. Now 48 years old, Jeri has two grown children who don’t talk to her unless they want something, usually money or a babysitter for the grandkids. She loves the grandkids, but they are so loud and argumentative. She constantly struggles to stay afloat financially and mentally. “Most days, I just exist.” Her husband expresses disgust. “Get over it. It’s not that bad. Worse things have happened to others, and they don’t act like you do.” So, she puts on her happy face and acts like she is fine, but inside, she feels resentful, angry, hurt, and sad.

This deep sadness is unexplainable.
It feels like the waves of the ocean crashing on your head repeatedly. Just as you catch your breath, depression crashes over you again. You know there’s no point in even trying anymore. When it does seem to lighten up a bit, you can’t enjoy it because you know something terrible is just around the corner. So, you brace yourself. Exhausted and overwhelmed, you want to stay in bed. When you’re asleep, you don’t have to think about anything. Thinking hurts your brain, and it takes up too much energy. Once, you used to be able to get angry. At least that was an emotion – but getting angry takes too much energy now. Now, there is just numbness, emptiness, and darkness. You don’t want to die. You just want it to be different. But how? You’ve tried therapy before. It didn’t seem to work. You felt better for a while, but the darkness keeps returning.
Do any of these sound like you? This is depression. You want to get up and enjoy life but don’t have what it takes. So, you pretend until you can’t pretend anymore. You smile until you can’t. You just exist, going through the motions when you can and feeling nothing inside.
Every emotion has a story to tell.

My training equips me to help you. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with licenses to practice in Kentucky and Tennessee. I received a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Tennessee and my Bachelor’s in Social Work from David Lipscomb College. Since 1989, I have been certified by the American Council on Exercise as a Group Fitness Instructor (I use this knowledge and skillset to help create balance in life). I also provide virtual (or telehealth) therapy through a HIPPA-secure platform and have been a member of AACC (American Association of Christian Counselors) since 1993. Since 2006, I have been in private practice in Portland, Tennessee. I strongly believe in the mind-body connection and work hard to maintain that balance in my own life.
My 30+ years of professional experience allows me to deal with depression, anxiety, panic, “nasty grams” (things we tell ourselves like, “I’m never going to get it right, I’m stupid, not good enough, a failure”), stress, and trauma/PTSD (abuse of all types, automobile accidents, acts of nature, military/LEOs). My approach is very down-to-earth, friendly, and compassionate, and I am a good listener with a good sense of humor.