Nando Schlecht, LAC

Trauma Therapy and Career Counseling with Nando Schlecht, LAC | Joshua Tree Counseling Tucson, AZ

Trauma Therapy and Career Counseling with Nando Schlecht, LAC

Is trauma is limiting your potential? Do you feel stuck in life, work, or your relationships? Are you ready to move forward?

Trauma Therapy and Career Counseling

Welcome and thanks for taking the time to consider whether I may be the right trauma therapist or career counselor for you. My name is Nathanael Schlecht, but I go by Nando. I am a licensed associate counselor who works with individuals towards hope, healing, and getting people moving in a forward direction. I think you’ll find my style to be relational, nonjudgmental, and encouraging.

I work with individual adults and older teens from all walks of life and faith backgrounds. As a trauma therapist, I work with a wide range of trauma: childhood abuse and neglect; organized, ritualistic or institutional abuse; traumatic loss; witnessed violence and combat trauma; car accidents, near death experiences, and suicide survival. As a US army veteran, I understand the unique challenges and sacrifice required of those who serve our country and the families who love and support our military. I have a special interest in helping those serving on the front lines in our medical and first responder services. I also have a knack for helping individuals discover their vocational identity and move towards work that is meaningful and aligns with their unique strengths and abilities.

I approach the therapeutic relationship with a genuine belief that you are a unique individual with a story that is only yours to tell. Stepping out in courage to seek help for what you want to change is courageous. I want to honor your courage by joining you shoulder to shoulder in the trenches of your emotional pain or life confusion and help to draw out your inner resources, identifying your strengths, and helping heal what feels broken. Let’s do this together!

Credentials

AZ Licensed Associate Counselor (LAC-23324)
Under Clinical Supervision (Rachel Lohrman, LPC-S)
Trauma Model Therapy, Certified (2025)
EMDR Trained (EMDRIA, 2024)
Career Counselor Certification (NCDA, in process)
IHRSS Certification (2018)

Education

MA – Master of Arts
Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Colorado Christian University

BA – Bachelor of Arts
Psychology & Communication
University of Arizona

On a more personal note...

Thank you for being curious in getting to know more about me as you consider working together. As you have noticed, I go by Nando. I’m sure getting to know some of my background will be helpful as you decide. I was born and raised here in Tucson, Arizona, and spent all my childhood and teenage years here in this hidden gem of a city. I attended Cienega High School for 3 ½ years, and I finished the last ½ year at Sahuarita High School from which I graduated.

The very short version of my life: at the age of 18, I joined the Army and became a Redleg, married, had my son, completed a combat deployment in Afghanistan from 2012-2013, honorably discharged, divorced, remarried and had two daughters, completed my undergraduate and graduate degree in 5ish years. And now I’m in the counseling profession in which I’m very excited about.

Some of the things I enjoy doing are road trips to Colorado with my family, drinking quality coffee (black only and shout out to Yellow Brick and EXO Roast Co., winning card games like Exploding Kittens or Unstable Unicorns, squat and deadlift days at the gym, getting lost in the world of Dune or Lord of the Rings, eating brunch at The Nook or Le Buzz, and writing poetry. I look forward to getting to know you and working with you.

TRAUMA THERAPY

Trauma therapy is a form of psychological support provided by a qualified counseling professional. It can help you identify physical, emotional, and cognitive symptoms; become aware of hidden internal and external triggers; safely process underlying memories without overwhelm or having to relive the trauma; adapt to your current environment and relationships in healthy ways; and make meaning of your experiences. Trauma therapy helps you change how your brain and body responded to an overwhelming event or series of experiences.

A traumatic experience is a incident that overwhelms your capacity to cope either temporarily or chronically. What comes to mind from your life when you hear the words traumatic experience? Whether you know you’ve been through a traumatic experience or whether you’re questioning whether what you experienced was traumatic, you may notice acute or chronic responses like anxiety, depression, grief, rage, dissociation, ruminating over what you could have done differently, nightmares, flashbacks, hypervigilance, high startle response, mistrust of others, avoidance behaviors, always needing to find or face the exits, withdrawal from others, lack of drive or motivation, or intrusive thoughts and unwanted images.

Trauma can not only impact your internal state of being but it can disrupt or impair your relationships, your job, your life satisfaction, or academic performance. How are you currently experiencing relationships with loved ones or friends? How is your ability to be present? Are you feeling unfulfilled at work? Are you easily annoyed or frustrated with your co-workers or boss? Do you struggle to complete school assignments or stay focused? Do you doubt whether what you went through was really that bad? Do you ever feel completely alone or like no one understands? Some trauma survivors minimize their experiences due to common beliefs like ‘someone has had it worse than me’, ‘it could have been way worse’, ‘I just want to forget it all’, or ‘there’s no reason to bring up the pain from the past’. Most trauma survivors would encourage a loved one to seek help and wouldn’t judge them for it, but tend to judge themselves for the same actions.

If you decide to work with me, I am eager to come alongside you and help you navigate and move towards healing the wounded parts of you that feel broken, dirty, angry, abandoned, alone or betrayed. I offer you the safety and space to feel heard and seen. You will find that the trauma work with me permission based with encouragement. The work of healing is not a rushed process, and as with everything we want to excel in, takes patience and hard work. Force, in word or action, will not enter our space. As a result of trauma therapy, a beautiful masterpiece can be experienced by you and those around you.

CAREER COUNSELING

Career counseling is a semi-structured form of psychotherapy that aims to help you make informed decisions about your career, job, education, and future. Whether you are just starting out and want to put your future on a positive path or whether you feel stuck in your job due to trauma, desire for stability over fulfillment, or family expectations, career counseling can help you understand yourself better, expand your understanding of the job market, and develop skills you may need to be successful.

Let’s be real, work is a part of life. If you’re here reading about career counseling, it’s possible that work is something you dread, something you just ‘fell into’, or something you feel stuck doing. Perhaps you know you have the potential to do something different but aren’t sure how to start something new, or you’re afraid to try, or you don’t know what you would be good at. Work can be pleasant, rewarding, and fulfilling! Starting down the path to career fulfillment has a lot to do with getting to know what you’re already good at, what things interest you, addressing unprocessed trauma, and changing any limiting beliefs that are holding you back. Career counseling helps identify your natural gifts, strengths, and abilities, refine these, and redirect them in a new direction.

Steps involved in career counseling include assessment, exploration, goal setting, preparation, implementation, accountability and follow-up.

Career counseling can help you:

Begin, change, or advance your career
Move from a job mentality to a career mentality
Consider various career options
Develop a growth mindset
Change industries
Move into management or leadership
Bring your dreams to the surface
Explore the idea of working for yourself
Identify limiting beliefs or blocks to growth
Make career decisions based on values and belief systems

Together, we can explore career and educational options that fit your passions, personality, and move anything that’s hindering you out of the way so you find work meaningful and fulfilling.

Services.

Trauma Therapy and Career Counseling

I offer in-person trauma therapy and career counseling to older teens and adults who are in Tucson, AZ. I am trained and knowledgeable in a variety of counseling models, approaches, and theories that you and I will discuss as to what the best fit for you will be. I primarily work with those who have experienced trauma (to any degree) and anyone who is navigating career related struggles.

Models/Approaches

Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR)
Brainspotting
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Trauma Model Therapy (TMT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Motivational Interviewing (MI)
Vocational Theories

Focus Areas

Career – begin, change, advance
Trauma across the lifespan
Abuse – sexual, organized, institutional
PTSD/cPTSD
Traumatic Loss
Witnessed death, loss
Medical profession, vicarious trauma
Military-related experiences

What is Brainspotting?

Brainspotting is a type of trauma therapy that brings healing to the areas of the brain and body where trauma is stored.

Brainspotting focuses on specific eye positions, or brain spots, related to your emotional or traumatic experience. It can help heal trauma/PTSD, improve performance, decrease anxiety, and improve emotional regulation.

Brainspotting can help you resolve physical manifestations of emotional pain, resolve deep-seated trauma, and address chronic emotional suffering when other things have not worked, or when you don’t want to have to talk through or about your trauma.

What is EMDR? Will it really help?

EMDR, which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a trauma treatment that uses eye movements (or another form of bilateral stimulation) to help the brain process and desensitize memories and reduce their emotional intensity.

EMDR can help alleviate symptomatic distress related to traumatic experiences It addresses the negative thoughts or beliefs attached to traumatic memories; decreases the body experiences of the trauma, and processes associated emotions – all with minimal to no talking about the trauma.

EMDR is a psychotherapy that includes more than just memory reprocessing, it is built on the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model and involves comprehensive treatment planning and preparation which includes internal and external resourcing in whatever ways you need in order to feel ready to begin the memory reprocessing.

EMDR is evidenced-based with positive outcomes for the treatment of PTSD, anxiety, dissociation and other mental health symptoms. If you have been recommended for EMDR or you’re curious about it, let’s discuss this during our initial visit so you get a sense of how it may work for you and your specific trauma.

PTSD - What is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder?

What comes to mind when you hear PTSD, or posttraumatic stress disorder? If you like most people, this diagnosis seems applicable to sometime who has been to war, or experienced sexual assault or torture. And you’re not wrong, PTSD can develop in response to these experiences. However, PTSD is also a description of the survival patterns of those who have suffered childhood abuse (physical, sexual, verbal, emotional) or neglect (abandonment, lack of food, absence of a loving care giver); and can develop when you are chronically exposed to death and secondary traumatic experiences.

PTSD includes a wide range of symptoms that fall into four categories to meet criteria for the diagnosis: re-experiencing (nightmares, flashbacks, body reactions when triggered); avoidance (of thoughts, feelings, people, places that remind you of the experience or from talking about the event); negative changes in thoughts, beliefs or mood (guilt, shame, feeling numb, or detached); and negative changes in arousal or reactivity (hypervigilance, irritability, exaggerated startle response, sleep disturbances, reactive outbursts of anger).

Unresolved PTSD can cause life, work and relational distress or impairment and in some cases, can lead a person to consider suicide as an option to the pain. You may notice you don’t want to burden your loved ones with your pain or tell them about the things you’ve experienced or witnessed. You may hold the belief that the past is best left in the past. It could be that you feel weak or judge yourself for not being over this already. Or maybe you feel like you are too much for others, and just generally a burden. It’s not uncommon to doubt that your trauma actually happened or to minimize it as ‘not that bad’ or say things like, ‘someone else had it way worse.’ How we internalize our trauma, and the thoughts and beliefs that develop, can sometimes feel like it eats us from the inside out.

PTSD is not a lifelong sentence when symptoms are addressed. If you are struggling and want to know whether what you are experiencing is PTSD, let’s meet and start the conversation so we can begin to get you on solid ground and moving forwards.

What is Vicarious Trauma?

Vicarious trauma, also known as secondary traumatic stress, can occur when you witness or learn about traumatic events or when you work in a job where you regularly care for or treat people who are experiencing trauma.

Depending on the nature, frequency and duration of the traumatic exposure, you may find that you experience symptoms of PTSD – intrusive images or thoughts, nightmares, emotional numbing, difficulty sleeping, hypervigilance, anxiety, depression, trouble concentrating, avoidance behaviors, or physical symptoms such as headaches, nausea, increased heart rate, fatigue, or weakened immune system.

While anyone can experience vicarious trauma, factors that increase the risk of developing problematic or prolonged symptoms of secondary trauma include having a personal trauma history; working in a high-stress environment or one that repeatedly exposes you to traumatic experiences; or being highly empathetic and taking on the feelings of others.

Are you wondering if you’re suffering form the effects of secondary trauma? I can help you sort this out and address the symptoms that are causing distress.

Counseling for Military & Veterans in Tucson

As an Army veteran, I understand the complexities involved in miliary life; the impact of deployment on a soldier and their family; and the adjustment of returning to civilian life and to starting on a new career path. As a current or former member of the military, you may need to process traumatic experiences; adjust to retirement or an honorable discharge; re-enter the civilian workforce, grieve the loss of the military in your life or the loss of a comrade in arms; address the role alcohol or another substance or behavior is playing in your life; or learn how to address and resolve symptoms like anxiety, depression, or hypervigilance. You may need help with your relationship or adjusting back to an active parenting role. It could be that you just need help adjusting overall.

Even though many things feel the same to those who have served, your story and experience is unique and only yours to tell. It would be an honor to meet you where you’re currently at and to help you process loss and trauma; re-adjust to civilian life or start a new career; or decrease negative symptoms, thoughts, or beliefs.

I am trained in a variety of counseling models, some of which involve talking things through, others that involve very little talking at all. Counseling is private and confidential. We can find the right approach to help you feel comfortable working things through.

Medical Professionals, First Responders

Among the special populations I enjoy helping are those who serve our city in the medical/healthcare and first responder communities – doctors, nurses, paramedics, fire fighters, law enforcement, therapists, end-of-life caregivers, etc. If you work in or support these professions, you are routinely exposed to pain and suffering, possibly to danger and death, on a regular basis; some things you see, you can’t unsee. Having to make in the moment life-death decisions can take a toll on your psyche; sharing negative medical outcomes with family can be emotionally draining; and putting your own life on the line for others can be thankless and hard to talk about over the dinner table with your family. Serving in these roles can be as rewarding and fulfilling as it is psychologically and emotionally taxing. You likely entered a helping or serving profession to help or heal others and you may confused or frustrated that you feel numb or jaded. It can be helpful to process through your experiences and change your thinking and belief patterns. Or, maybe you are contemplating a career change but want to know you’re doing it for the right reasons.

If you need someone to talk to so you don’t burden your loved one with the stories of witnessed trauma, or in you need help with intrusive images or thoughts related to secondary trauma; or if you’re finding yourself to be generally numb and apathetic because you’ve seen so much; or if you need to explore other career options, I can help!

Fees

Standard Rate: $100/hr

I provide counseling on a private pay basis and do not accept insurance. A credit or debit card (including HSA cards) must be on file prior to your first appointment and is automatically charged at the time of each session. While I do not accept insurance, I can provide a superbill* which you can submit to your insurance as part of your out-of-network benefits and possibly get your fees reimbursed or have them contribute to your deductible.

Schedule

Tuesdays 9:30am – 5pm
Wednesdays 10am – 5pm

(Starting in June, I will be available Monday-Friday 9-5)

Location

Joshua Tree Counseling
Plaza Campana
6891 N Oracle Rd #155
Tucson, AZ 85704

(on Oracle, between Ina & Orange Grove)

*Superbills for Out-of-Network Insurance Benefits

It is important to know that I do not accept insurance. I do offer superbills that you can submit to your insurance company for reimbursement. A superbill is an itemized statement of services that includes all the information an insurance company would need to set me up as an out-of-network provider as well as the type of service you were provided (psychotherapy), fees paid, and your diagnosis (if applicable). Essentially you pay for therapy at the time of service, submit an itemized statement of fees paid, and if you are eligible, your insurance company reimburses you after deductibles are met.

Good Faith Estimates

You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your therapeutic services will cost. Under the recently enacted No Surprises Act, health care providers need to give patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical items and services. You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency items or services. You are entitled to a Good Faith Estimate in writing at least 1 business day before your medical service or item. You can also ask your health care provider, and any other provider you choose, for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule an item or service. If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill. Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate. For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises or call 1-800-985-3059.

Contact.

If you are ready to get started with trauma therapy or career counseling, you can view my next available appointment and request a day and time that works for you. For all other requests and questions, please use the form below and I’ll respond as quickly as I can.