Benita’s Credentials

Benita A. Esposito is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Georgia and a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor in North Carolina.  

My profile has been certified by PsychologyToday.com.

I have practiced psychotherapy for four decades, helping adult individuals and couples in private sessions, groups and intensive retreats. I love the retreats best because so much transformation occurs in such a short time. I like results!

Education: I earned a master’s degree in clinical psychology (1976) and a bachelor’s degree in psychology (1973) from Illinois State University.

Specialties

  1. Counseling with adult individuals over the age of 21 who want to reduce anxiety, stress, depression, grief and trauma. I also help people heal the emotional roots of dis/ease with my holistic practices.
  2. Couples Counseling to create a secure attachment bond and heal the wounds that have caused attachment breaches.
  3. Counseling Highly Sensitive Introverts is one of my greatest joys. Read my bestselling book: The Gifted Highly Sensitive Introvert: Wisdom for Emotional Healing and Expressing Your Radiant Authentic Self available on Amazon. Take the quiz to see if you are a highly sensitive introvert: www.SensitiveIntrovert.com.

Certifications

    • Georgia Licensed Professional Counselor license #000300
    • North Carolina Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor #15664
    • Certified Brainspotting Therapist
    • Certificate of Specialization in TeleMental Health Counseling (distance counseling by video-conference)
    • Certified Grief Counseling Specialist
    • Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist
    • Certified Prepare/Enrich Facilitator. Customized reports guide pre-marital couples into relevant conversations about their strengths, growth areas, and potential blind spots.
    • Gottman 7 Principles Program Leader. I lead public and private workshops for couples based on Drs. John and Julie Gottman’s 40 years of research and therapy for creating flourishing relationships.

Advanced Training

    • Gottman Method Couples Therapy. Level 3 of 3 professional training programs.
    • Gottman Leadership Program – Develops strong healthy committed relationships in a psycho-educational format
    • Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT) with Dr. Sue Johnson. I completed the 4-day EFT Externship Program and Core Skills, which is a year-long training program along with 10 supervised sessions required for certification.
    • The Highly Sensitive Person. I’ve been approved by Dr. Elaine Aron to provide psychotherapy for Highly Sensitive People. Visit www.SensitiveIntrovert.com.
  • A few of the other post-graduate courses I’ve taken over four decades:
    • Brainspotting: Phase 1, 2, 3, the Masters class with Dr. David Grand, Limbic Counter-transference and several others.
    • Somatic Experiencing  – Dr. Peter A. Levine
    • Attachment theory and practice – Dr. Diane Poole Heller
    • Motivational interviewing – Dr. Bill Miller
    • Internal Family Systems – Dr. Richard Schwartz
    • Neuroscience – Dr. Steven Porges and others
    • Healing trauma and PTSD – numerous practitioners
    • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to manage anxiety and depression
    • Mindfulness
    • Meditation tools
    • Life Coaching, success skills and adult education skills

Masters Thesis in Clinical Psychology

Fascinated with the untapped potential of human beings, my master’s thesis researched methods of pain elimination without drugs. This began the life-long passion for holistic mind-body-spirit-emotional healing and psychoneuroimmunology (the power of our mind and spirit to affect our bodies).

PhD courses in Community/Organizational Psychology at Georgia State University, 1982.

Professional Memberships

    • Georgia Licensed Professional Counselor Association
    • North Carolina Licensed Clinical Mental Health Association
    • The International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy
    • Atlanta Center for Emotionally Focused Therapy
    • The Association for the Integration of the Whole Person, Ordained Minister since 1992

Career Experience: After launching my career as an out-patient psychotherapist with Catholic Social Services in Iowa, I transferred to Ozark Mental Health Center in Joplin, Missouri as a Community Services Professional. I designed, marketed and delivered adult education courses for the general public, facilitated community organization projects, appeared on TV and radio shows, and did a lot of public speaking.

I opened my private practice in Georgia in 1986, specializing in psychotherapy for adult individuals and couples. Throughout my career, I have facilitated therapy groups and intensive weekend retreats for the purpose of developing healthy relationships, deep emotional healing and excavating the Authentic Self.

Strengths: Combining intuition and logic, I get to the bottom line quickly to help clients create flourishing personal and professional relationships. I like to blend evidence-based research with heartfelt spirit.

Credit: Benita A. Esposito. Lake Chatuge

Personality:  I’m a Highly Sensitive Introvert and an INFJ on the Myers Briggs. INFJ’s compose 1% of the population.

I especially enjoy helping other high-achieving, highly sensitive people. (Google Dr. Elaine Aron’s research.) We are conscientious, compassionate, creative and empathetic. We love making our contribution to uplift the quality of life on the planet. “Service” is our middle name.

Valuing the beauty of Nature, I moved out of the hubbub of Atlanta and built my home near the top of a mountain overlooking a pristine lake surrounded by ripples of the North Georgia Blue Ridge Mountains, two miles from the Western North Carolina border. Nature’s beauty brings me closer to God and uplifts me in the good times and in the bad times.

Visit SensitiveIntrovert.com to learn more about how I help the Highly Sensitive Person.