Peggy Derivan – MS, LMHC
I have always believed in people’s ability to improve their lives and live more happily. I strive to help people attain their personal best by focusing on strengths and utilizing their unique gifts and experiences to better their lives. I have been practicing for the past 18 years with both children and adults in a variety of contexts. I worked as an addictions, mental health counselor, and child development specialist at the Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Center in Philadelphia for two years. Following my return to Rochester, I was the Clinical Coordinator of school-age programs at Mt. Hope Family Center.
Since 2000, I have also provided free counseling services through a volunteer therapist program at Spiritus Christi Mental Health Center for those who lack health insurance or the ability to pay for Mental Health assistance.
It was because of my belief in a strength-based, respectful approach to working with people that I was drawn to the counseling approach of Narrative Therapy. Since 2003, I have studied and practiced Narrative Therapy through trainings at the Center for Narrative Practice (Jodi Aman was director), Maggie Carey and Shona Russell from Adelaide, Australia, and co-founders of the practice – David Epstein and Michael White. I also train other counselors and counseling students in the use of the narrative approach.
Within my Narrative practice, I also utilize the therapeutic approaches of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Solution-focused therapy, mindfulness and meditation, and I maintain a stance of being creative and useful to my client at all times.
I have a Masters degree in Counseling from the University of Rochester, and a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) through the State of New York.
It is a pleasure to be a counselor. I enjoy the opportunity to hear the complexities and richness in the stories that make up people’s lives. I am privileged to witness children, teenagers, and their parents and families take a stand against the problems that are disrupting their lives. I am inspired by learning what people are committed to, what they hold most dear, and how they learned to hold these values. I am often moved to do something different in my own life by hearing someone else’s courageous acts to change a problem’s hold on their life.
