Stephanie Ann Vander Lugt, MA, MSW, LCSWA

I believe we are all recovering from something. I experienced my first panic attack when I was 13 years old. I had no idea what was going on and it took several years (well into adulthood) and several more difficult experiences before I came to understand that I was living with anxiety. I experienced a lot of shame around this and explored several less-than-healthy self-medicating strategies. As I learned more about mental health over the years, I became increasingly passionate about breaking down barriers of stigma and increasing access to holistic health for all.

I have always been a “helper” type, passionate about the health and flourishing of communities and the people and families who inhabit them. I spent my childhood in West Africa and as an adult have lived and worked in three different countries before settling in Charlotte with my husband and three children. This experience made me a lover of cultures and formed a global perspective in me which I value deeply.

My professional experience includes community development work in Mexico, violence and abuse prevention work in Scotland, and 10 years working with currently and previously incarcerated people in North Carolina as a chaplain and a community advocate. I currently run a local nonprofit called Kinship Plot which is a place-based community development organization that provides space for connection across difference, personal and communal healing, and engages in environmental and food justice at the grassroots level. I view my work as a therapist and my engagement in the community as all part of the same work of healing. Whether I am working with individuals, couples, families, or out in the community, I consider it a privilege to help create the conditions in which people are empowered to be their truest selves—healed and free.

I believe the path of healing and recovery isn’t meant to be traveled alone and I would consider it an honor to be on the journey with you.

I serve adolescents and adults (ages 12+) as individuals, couples, or in a group format and can address the following issues:

Adolescents:

• Anxiety and depression

• Trauma and PTSD 

• Healthy coping skills and behaviors

• Identity and self-esteem

• Healthy relationships

• Suicidal thoughts and self-harm

• Addictive behavior and substance use

• ADHD and neurodivergence

Adults: 

• PTSD and complex trauma

• Processing recent traumatic events

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Substance use disorder

• Healthy coping skills

• Spiritual or religious trauma

• Racial trauma

• Healthy relationships 

• Burnout and stress

• Grief

• Perinatal and postpartum mental health

• Parenting challenges

• Systemic oppression and political depression 

Approach:

• Client-centered and collaborative: our sessions are for you and my role is to accompany you and be responsive to your needs. I believe the quality of our relationship is extremely important and place a high value on building mutual trust.

• Person-in-environment and culturally-attentive: Your unique context and cultural identity are part of who you are and I will do my best to honor you and take a learning approach to provide an inclusive, affirming space.

• Trauma-informed: Everyone carries wounds, and I seek to create a receptive and nourishing space for your story to be held and healing to happen.

• Practical, goal-oriented, and empowering: We will work together to identify your goals and keep track of your progress together. Between sessions, I will encourage you to practice what we talk about in session.

Based on my training, here are some of the clinical modalities that I use. I often weave multiple approaches into sessions with clients based on what resonates with them. We will work together to identify what approach will work best for you!

• EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a technique that enables people to heal from symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences. It is proven successful in treating addictions, low self-esteem, PTSD, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, complicated grief, phobias, eating disorders, and other concerns. 

• TF-CBT (Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) helps to address harmful thinking and behaviors in children and adolescents caused by traumatic experiences.

• Cognitive Behavioral approaches such as DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) and ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) increase emotional awareness and regulation skills using acceptance and mindfulness strategies along with commitment and behavior-change strategies.

• Seeking Safety focuses on a trauma-informed approach to substance use disorder

• Walk-and-talk therapy is an opportunity to do sessions outside in a park, nature preserve, or greenway in Charlotte. Walk and talk allows for a deeper connection between the mind and body as well as self and nature and is proven to decrease symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, ADHD, among other concerns.

• EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) and TFT (Thought Field Therapy) Tapping is method that helps to manage strong emotions, troubling thoughts, and lower stress and anxiety. 

• Somatic therapy is a body-centric approach rooted in the idea that the body physically expresses painful experiences. The goal of this type of treatment is to modify trauma-related responses so that they no longer trigger you. Tension, trauma, and stress are released from the body employing mindfulness, visualization, meditation, and various forms of movement and touch.

In my spare time you will find me working in the garden, fermenting something in the kitchen, or out walking in the woods breathing in the gift of the forest. I also love being with people, and my table is often full of people laughing, sharing life and delicious food.