A WORD FROM Dr Veronica…
I recently attended a conference with many parents concerned about cultural movements and their impact on children. A common belief there was that any child or teen having a hard time should be sent to therapy. I hear this a lot—even when the struggle isn’t about mental health but life challenges or behavior. I cringe at this idea. During the comment session, I shared my view: if your child is struggling, they don’t need therapy—they need you, their parents. Parents are the ones to make a difference in their child’s life. Maybe not as fast or as effectively as we hope, but parents are the most powerful force for kids.
When parents push back on this challenge, it is often because they don’t know what to do in the case of their child. The good news is no one knows what to do. In parenting, we are all in this together, doing the best we can with what we’ve been given. Listen closely: what you have is good enough. You love your child way more than anyone else. You are committed to your child for life (no one else will put up with your child like you will). All this means that the effort, the engagement, the wrestling you do with your child will be wholly more meaningful and fruitful than anything a mental health expert will do with your child. Trust yourself.
Who We Are…
MEET Ann Stager, LPCC
Meet Ann Stager! Born in a small mining town in Manitoba, Ann completed her internship with us at Envision and is working toward the 2,000 hours required for LPC licensure. She’s no stranger to schooling, holding a Registered Nursing license and a Master’s in Public Administration. Following a God prompt, she joined a leadership ministry program in Colorado Springs in 1984 and has made Colorado her home ever since. Ann has two grown children who also live in Colorado.
I always ask, “Why did you become a therapist?” Ann’s answer blends her love of caring as a nurse with a desire for deeper spiritual and personal work. She enjoys guiding clients to remove unhelpful patterns, gain clarity, and explore new life possibilities. Growing up in Flin Flon and working summers in the mines, she likens her clients’ journeys to mining for personal gems to become their authentic selves.
If not a therapist, she’d run a cozy bookstore with great coffee, snacks, and a vibrant intellectual and spiritual community—think Cheers, but with books. A self-proclaimed coffee snob, she’d make sure the coffee matched the hype. What gets her up each day? Her alarm and the drive to do Kingdom work, guided by her mantra: “Show up, be present, and be the best you can be today,” with a dash of Finding Nemo’s “Just keep swimming” and Apollo 13’s “Houston, we have a problem.”
We like to have fun too!
What do your therapists do on their days off? For Ann, it’s reading, watching British Crime TV or baking. Her guilty pleasure is staying at 5 Star resorts with a bucket list item being a meandering European vacation. Meandering between the 5 Star Hotels and Resorts, of course. What would Ann’s fantasy job be? Being in a Christian rock band – think Chris Tomlin but add a little more rock. She has done many choirs over the years but dreams about what the big stage would be like. Rock On Ann!
We are here for you – call today to get on the schedule!
