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TrueHearted Counseling

About Me

My Story

PictureStephen Eller, M.A., LPC
I started TrueHearted Counseling to offer my clients therapy that is empowering, collaborative, and client-centered.

I am fully licensed by the state of Texas as a licensed professional counselor, and hold a master's degree in clinical mental health counseling from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. I am a member of the Texas Counseling Association and the Association for Play Therapy.

I've always worked with clients of all ages, but for the first decade of my career I specialized in play therapy and in working with adolescents and teenagers. As a male play therapist, I am in a unique position to model a manhood that is compassionate, respectful, and trustworthy—a responsibility which I take very seriously. That being said, I enjoy working with adults as well. The feedback I usually get from my adult clients is that they feel heard, understood, and were able to get new perspectives which helped them get unstuck.

I am grateful for every client that I see, and I especially enjoy working with underdogs—people who have a hard time finding a place to belong, who are lonely or marginalized for whatever reason. It's worth knowing that I have ADHD (Inattentive-type)—but I wasn't diagnosed until I was an adult.

Early in my career, I worked at Cedar Crest Hospital and Residential Treatment Center, where I served children aged 5 to 17 with mental health disorders, substance addictions, hallucinations, and severe trauma. I have since worked in private practice and non-profit settings. I worked at SafeHaven of Tarrant County, where for five years I served families who had experienced physical, emotional, or sexual violence. My unique background has helped me to establish a practice that is trauma-informed.

I have been married since 2007 to an amazing, passionate woman who now acts as my office manager. We have two little boys together. My family is such a priority to me, and I am always honored to be able to support other people in finding connection and belonging.

If you really want to know whether I am a good fit for you or your family, the best way to know is to talk to me in person. That being said, I am a storyteller at heart and I see this as my first opportunity to share my story with you. So if you'd like to know more about me, please click on a section below.
My specialties include:
  • Depression and Mood disorders
  • Anxiety and Stress
  • ADHD
  • Trauma and PTSD
  • Grief and Loss
  • Identity and Self-concept
  • Faith Transitions
  • Couple's Counseling (including LGBTQIA+)
  • Peer or family relationships
  • Forgiveness
  • Anger
  • Behavioral issues
  • ​Suicidal thoughts
  • ...and more
Why I do what I do
Early in my counseling career, when I was still a student, I had a session that I'll never forget. I was sitting in the room with a teenage boy and his mother. He may have been the first teenager I ever worked with—I don't remember for sure. But either way, I was self-conscious, nervous, and inexperienced. That boy looked me square in the eye, smirked, and said, "So, what good is counseling, anyway?" And then his mother, the very person who had brought him there in the first place, leaned back, crossed her arms, and smirked too. I honestly do not remember how I answered (I wish I did!). But somehow, despite being wet behind the ears, I gave an answer that meant something to him. And not only did he come back to see me, but he disclosed some really hard things about his life—things that he had never told anyone else.

His question was a right one. An important one. What good is counseling? Why do I pour so much of myself into doing it? There's not a simple answer to that question. I could tell you that I grew up in a family that valued helping others. I could tell you that my temperament predisposes me toward being empathetic and caring. I could tell you about my uncle, who is a retired therapist himself, and who had a big influence on me. But I think that more than anything else, what keeps me passionate about therapy is the stories. Stories of people like that teenage boy who challenged me almost a decade ago. I am privileged to be trusted with stories that most people don't get to hear, and I get to be a part of those stories (however small a part that may be). I cannot ignore what I have learned from the children, teenagers, and adults who have shared their stories with me. And I cannot ignore the pain, longing, and hope that colors those stories. Ultimately, this is how I see it: if I know a problem exists and I have the skills to make it better, I cannot be happy with myself unless I am doing something to make it better. So that's what I try to do. What's your story?
What kind of person I am
INFP  |  Developer, Strategic, Empathy, Adaptability, Intellection

The links above will give you an idea about my temperament and my strengths. Aside from that, I'd like to spend most of this section sharing one of my favorite stories. The reason I think this is worth sharing is that it will give you a sense of what it is like to work with me.

In Tolstoy's short story collection Twenty-Three Tales, there's a little parable called Three Questions. In it, a king seeks out a wise hermit to ask him three questions: What is the most important time to do things? Who are the most important people? What is the most important thing to do?
When the king asks his questions, the hermit ignores him and goes on digging beds for his garden. Impatient, the king steps in to help the hermit do his work. He works for hours, but when the beds are dug and he is ready to ask his questions again, a wounded man bursts out of the woods. The king takes him into the hermit's hut, dresses his wounds, and cares for him.  Exhausted from the day's work, the king falls asleep at the threshold of the hut. When he wakes up, he finds the wounded man staring intently at him.
"Forgive me," says the man.
"I do not know you, and have nothing to forgive you for," replies the king.
"You do not know me, but I know you," replies the man. And he goes on to explain that he had come into the woods to murder the king, seeking revenge for his brother. But instead, he had run into the king's guard stationed not far away, and had been wounded trying to escape them.
"I wished to kill you," he concludes, "And now you have saved my life." He pledges his allegiance to the king.
Before he leaves, the king tries one more time to ask the hermit his three questions. But the hermit insists that he already has his answer. The king is puzzled.
"Do you not see?" replies the hermit. "If you had not dug those beds for me, that man would have attacked you. So the most important time was when you were digging the beds, and I was the most important man, and to do me good was your most important business. Afterwards when that man ran to us, the most important time was when you were attending to him, for if you had not bound up his wounds he would have died without having made peace with you. So he was the most important man, and what you did for him was your most important business. Remember then: there is only one time that is important—Now! It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power. The most important person is the one you are with, for no man knows whether he will ever have dealings with any one else: and the most important thing is to do him good, because for that purpose alone was man sent into this life!"

From the moment I first read that story, it made a deep impression on me. I try to keep the answers to the three questions in mind with every family I work with. When I am in the room with you or your child, that is the most important time, you and your children are the most important people, and helping you is the most important thing for me to do.

(If you're interested in reading Tolstoy's original story, you can find a free translation here. It's not long—only about three pages.)

Follow the link below to find out more about why I chose the name "TrueHearted Counseling" for my practice.
Why "TrueHearted"?
verified by Psychology Today
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