Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Ram.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I graduated with my undergrad in 2003 and was sort of stuck not wanting to join the industry that I studied. I ended up working as a missionary overseas for a couple of years and met my husband. I moved back — stateside — to my hometown and continued work with the same agency, here in Grand Rapids/West Michigan. My desire to help people with the core of who they are was probably birthed in those years.
Here in West Michigan I worked with at-risk kids who often would get locked up. I realized, quickly, that I largely felt unprepared to truly help them the way they needed so I went back to school and studied Counseling. I continued to grow professionally with a couple of very reputable agencies before breaking out and opening a private practice.
I love private practice. There’s the obvious of setting my own schedule and being there for my kids. I also love it because it really opens up freedom for me and my client to really address the issues that they face the way they experience it. Whether I’m working with a kid/adolescent or an adult, whatever they come into my office with they can talk about. I find myself being not as “clinical” and being somewhat more “relational” with clients because we heal in relationship. That’s what being a missionary is about: change through relationship, not change because I’m the expert.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I don’t think it’s been a rough road necessarily. It has been more of a windy road. I graduated with my BA in Communications with most of that experience in production and public relations. Then I took a turn to mission work. That was probably the hardest part, mission work, for a variety of reasons. Coming back home, continuing the mission work, and turning into Counseling seemed like one of those natural swooping curves through the wilderness. I felt, and continue to feel, increasingly more prepared for clients. I learn a lot from them: where I lack in skill and can fill that, where I can dig into resources to help them, developing an ear to hear both the big picture of their lives and the small things that trip people up. I learn how my experiences, though they are sometimes vastly different than my clients, have connecting points with the feelings that go with them. I find myself really enjoying seeing the depth that people have and how their shape has been transformed through their experiences. Watching people change and take better shape is a truly beautiful thing: sometimes it is one or two pivitol things said in session, sometimes it is like the water that reshapes and rounds the rocks after seasons of flows. Super fun and exciting for me and my clients!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Kelly Ram, LPC?
I’m just a one-man operation! I specialize in trauma: the disorder itself and all the disorders that come along with it: anxiety, depression, grief, self-issues, emotional regulation, all of that. I work with a variety of tools: EMDR (Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), IFS (Internal Family Systems), ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy), Mindfulness, Motivational Interviewing, and PCP (Person-Centered Planning/Therapy). I know, sounds like alphabet soup right? (Join the club, I think so too!). I also am open to extended EMDR sessions. I take a variety of insurances, all the big ones and a few of the small ones. I also do out of pocket.
The office that I work in has 10 therapists in it, we are all individual businesses that throw in together for office space and supplies and on the door it says Grace Haven Counseling. All of the therapists in this office are great and we’re very like minded. You can find us at www.gracehavencounseling.com
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
A lot of my clients come in person for their individual sessions. I also see people virtually. I like in-person better but I know that distance, time, and other variables make that hard for people. I have seen people across the state, not too many in the UP I will admit.
Pricing:
- Individual: $160, sliding scale available if needed.
- Insurances too!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.gracehavencounseling.com
- Other: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/kelly-ram-grandville-mi/381245
