About Me | Teresa Prendes

THERAPIST

Counseling Style

My approach to counseling is very interactive and individualized. I appreciate the creative arts and often use art, music, and writing as tools for developing insight and healing. Together we will explore the patterns in your life that are keeping you stuck, figure out how these patterns have benefited you, and then find healthier ways to achieve what you need.

I also think it’s important to focus on communication. We feel such diverse, and complex emotions, yet rely on the same limited number of words to express those feelings. I have found it extremely helpful to be able to identify, understand, and accurately communicate what you are feeling. I use a variety of creative counseling techniques to help develop that emotional vocabulary.

Professional Focus

I’ve always been drawn toward the culture and experience of higher education: particularly the challenges and transformations that occur as students learn to manage classes, jobs, relationships, not to mention self-expectations and ever-evolving dreams. I’ve played the part of coach, professor, adviser and therapist at several universities. As a former college athlete, I have personally experienced the challenges of managing your mental health while juggling so many responsibilities. I love working with athletes and other performance professionals as they manage anxiety, depression, and other struggles that often get overlooked in high-achieving driven individuals. I was fortunate to attend Seton Hall University’s MA/EdS in Professional Counseling program which offered a concentration in Sport and Performance Psychology. In addition to my part-time practice, I also have a fulltime role as Director of Sport Psychology at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN.

Private Practice

Opening up my own practice has been part of my life vision for a long time. I imagined what it would be like and waited patiently for the opportunity to arrive. In May of 2015, I opened my first office in a small Music Row studio in Nashville. The practice has grown since then. It is now part of a group of diverse wellness professionals at the Back in Touch Wellness Center off West End Avenue. I am walking distance from the Vanderbilt and Belmont University campuses, and just a short drive from downtown Nashville. I currently work part-time seeing clients on Tuesdays, Thursday evenings, and Saturday mornings. Check out the location page for more information or call me if you are interested in an appointment.

ATHLETE

I’ve always been competitive…always loved sports, but the first time I can remember giving all of my effort, focus, energy, dedication to something was on the soccer field. It was the first time I wanted something so badly that it was worth every single second of hard work. I started playing soccer when I was 12…my best friend and I would practice every day…with the goal of making the New Jersey State Team. She had been playing for years and I was trying to keep up. I learned so much about passion and dedication. When I finally made the state team 2 years later I was a new person. I then set my focus on a college scholarship and went on to play all four years at the University of Chicago.

That experience became such a big part of who I am and how I treat my goals. I really believe if I want something badly enough, if I imagine it, visualize, act as if it’s already happened…then it will be!

The other thing I LOVE about being an athlete is that state of “flow”. Flow is the feeling of being so fully immersed in what your doing that you can do it without thinking. It’s “being in the zone”. All my energy and emotion is directed toward this one activity…it feels beyond fulfilling. If you have never heard about flow, check it out.

ARTIST

Art has done incredible things for me. Several years ago, in exploring meditative and spiritual practices, I came across mandala art. I eagerly began drawing my own mandalas. I found peace in that they required me to truly let myself go to the pen and paper. My collection of mandalas has continued to grow. Each one was unique to the circumstances that surrounded me at the time of their drawing. To see some of my mandalas check out this video or find out more about mandalas on my resources page.

PARENT

Being a mom is by far one of the toughest things I’ve ever had to do. I’ve read plenty of “How To” guides, but I wanted a manual with my child’s name on the title and a warranty on the back. The reality, though, is that any manual that came with my child would have re be rewritten almost every day. So I decided to be patient…allow both of us to make mistakes and make some edits. I’m not sure how it happened, but she’s turned out to be just fine…amazing really. It is a challenge.