About
Welcome to “The Haven Place”
We strive to make The Haven Place a place of safety, a particular place with a specific purpose … hope, healing, and recovery.
What sets us apart? First, we’ve successfully worked in a wide range of problem areas and roles and bring the knowledge and skills we’ve gained to our current work and clients. And we continue to build on that foundation.
We focus on eight aspects of wellness (mental, emotional, spiritual, physical, biological, sexual, psychological, social). We work with our clients to help them identify and address problems in each of these areas in order to help restore emotional and physical harmony.
Speaking of harmony – we focus on that as well. We’re talking about harmony between your values and priorities in life, your needs and expectations, your goals, emotions and boundaries, the various roles you fill, your personal history or baggage, different parts of your personality, and the eight aspects of wellness. It’s the difference between either living your life reactively or living your life proactively, an aspect many of us have never considered.
Focusing on what’s happened to you vs. what’s wrong with you, we’ll apply our unique blend of experience, training, and skills in three primary areas: 1) relationships – with individuals, couples, and families, 2) PTSD and trauma, and 3) boundaries and emotional intelligence.
Our pasts can and do intrude, changes do happen, and both can lead to problems affecting multiple aspects of our lives.
We’ve helped hundreds of people regain their lives and feel confident we can help you as well.
What do we do differently than other therapists?
First, we don’t focus on mental health disorders – what’s wrong with you.
Instead, we (you and us) will focus on what’s happened to you – the underlying causes – and your reactions. Whether there’s past trauma, substance use, environmental problems, etc., there’s always an underlying reason for a person’s problems and behavior.
In many cases, if we don’t address those underlying factors, recovery never happens; we’ve applied a band-aid and the problem only gets worse. That’s why, at The HAVEN Place, we focus on those causes instead of their symptoms.
We’ll integrate the body and spirit with the mind to address your physical, safety, and relational needs.
Second, we STAY FOCUSED on your initial problems through structured therapy. While we’ll work together on new problems as they arise, we’ll always keep our eyes on primary problem areas. In doing so, you, like most clients we’ve worked with over the years – couples and individuals – may experience significant improvement.
Many of our past clients initially met criteria for PTSD / trauma. They commonly improved 30 points or more compared to their pre-therapy scores in 10 or so sessions.
These clients no longer met trauma or PTSD criteria and had a renewed sense of calmness, self-control, joy, inner peace, purpose and meaning in their lives.
This can be you.
We’ll treat you with the utmost respect and compassion, but we’re also laid back. If it’s appropriate, we’re going to laugh – and we want you to laugh, too!
In just a few sessions, you’ll learn…
To live proactively according to your own values, needs, expectations and goals.
To express your emotions openly and honestly, how and when to be emotionally vulnerable and with who and how to set and maintain safer and more effective boundaries.
Want to enjoy a renewed sense of calm, self-control, joy, inner peace, purpose, and meaning?
YOU CAN!
Who We Are
I’m Ray Sizemore, Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and founder of The HAVEN Place.
I consider myself a lifelong student. As an LCSW in FL I have to complete 30 hours of continuing education every two years. What’s that mean to you? I didn’t stop at a masters degree. I average more than those 30 hours or so of continuing education every 2 years. My current 650+ hours since 2004 include 130+ hours of post-graduate work in relationships and 250+ hours in trauma.
A retired U.S. Air Force (E-8) veteran, as I pursued my second career in social work, I realized that it takes (at least) two. If you’re married or living with someone, that person needs to be included in our work to bring about true, lasting, positive change.
The same thing applies to children. Parents and other family members need to be involved in the work we do. That’s relationships, one of my specializations.
My other specialization involves trauma. In this area, I can offer you a wealth of expertise and trauma training, including JRI’s post-graduate certificate in Traumatic Studies. I also hold certificates in both clinical trauma and compassion fatigue.
In both of these specializations I have a focus on boundaries, emotions, and emotional intelligence – areas many people struggle with.
I’m one of the few therapists in the area qualified to provide EMDR (both the original and FLASH versions), a very effective treatment for trauma, PTSD, anxiety, depression, and a host of other problems. And with FLASH you don’t have to tell your stories of past trauma.
I am the only behavioral health provider within 250 miles qualified to provide TRE (tension, stress, and trauma releasing exercises), a very effective way to relieve stress, tension, and past trauma – and (again) you don’t have to talk about your trauma memories unless you want to.
I prefer to work face to face with you but can also effectively work with you via video or telehealth. When we work together, I’ll be very patient, calm, and easy to talk with – yet very professional.
In short, I have in-depth knowledge about trauma, coupled with effective skills and experience in treating trauma, much more than your typical therapist.
In my spare time, you’ll find me spending time with family, working out, practicing martial arts, gardening, cooking (and eating), reading (too much), enjoying our pets (2 dogs and 3 cats) and woodworking.
I spend many an odd hour here and there, as my grandfather used to call it, “tinkering” in the garage.
I also have a passion for playing with my lap harp and Native American flutes. This photo features my double-strung Celtic lap harp and two flutes. Although I know a few tunes, I’m more of an aficionado than a virtuoso, but all are fun to play and drive our dogs crazy.
I’m Chelsea Younger, Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). Over the course of the last decade, I’ve spent time with people of all ages holding space and walking with them through their lives. With a career focused on trauma and families, I approach healing in a collaborative, whole person approach. I’m trained in various modalities to include EMDR (both conventional and FLASH), mindfulness, strengths and empowerment models, CBT, and sand tray to name a few. I continue learning with a passionate and eager mind in order to expand my knowledge base.
Working together means, first and foremost, I meet you as an individual with your own unique experiences, needs and desires. Through this whole person-centered approach we begin to tailor treatment that will work and be effective for you. There is no one-size fits all therapy making our work together as individual as you. In looking at the root cause of what brought you to seek therapy we will focus on you as an individual and what has happened to you. As we do not exist in a bubble alone, we will also examine the relationships around you. Together we can move down a path of wellness as you find a sense of purpose and joy in your life.
When I’m not in the therapeutic space you can find me curled up with a good book, running around with my three amazing kiddos having adventures, and everything in between. Learning is a passion of mine and I enjoy sharing that with others as an adjunct professor at the University level. Often, I find myself seeking to connect with nature from simply spending time outside, the beach, hiking trails or camping. In my creative pursuits I’ll be covered in paint or wood dust as I learn new techniques (and make fabulous messes) decorating and creating items for my home.
Hello there. I’m Mandy Philyaw, the office manager at The Haven Place, and will probably be the first person you talk to here. I was born on the Florida Gulf Coast and my four beautiful children have been raised here as well.
I believe everything and everyone has a purpose in life. We may lose sight of that purpose when life gets hard or stressful, yet we can all find that unique purpose again and live a rich and full life. One of my personal goals is to help others see their true potential in their own unique way.
I have a colorful background to say the least and have traveled to 48 different states (I’ve missed Alaska and Hawaii yet I’m still hopeful). I have family and friends from many walks in life and truly enjoy people. I love music (Grateful Dead and more), Greek food and sushi, crafting, exploring and enjoying the area creeks and beaches, my record collection, going kayaking, vegetable and flower gardening, and a good lightning storm.
I owned and ran a food concession business that set up at music festivals, concerts and art shows and still help friends do the same at times. I’ve worked as a medical assistant and medical secretary, I was a tile installer with a local company, and I own and run 13 Points Cleaning, an earth-friendly cleaning company. My job as Office Manager here at The Haven Place has been the most rewarding one. I am very happy to be working with this team and I am looking forward to providing you with information, scheduling, and a warm friendly smile.
And feel free to ask me about my earrings!
Give us a call or send us an email with your availability in the coming week to request a free consultation. We’ll respond within 24 hours with a day and time to learn what works for both of us.