FRANCESCA COLE-BARNES, LCPC
FOUNDER
"Faith Changes Behavior is founded on my life being a continuous faith walk. I wake up each day unsure what the day will bring yet determined to walk by faith and not by what I see. By accepting the call from the Lord to return to school to major in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, I realized I was on the right path, and the rest is history."
Francesca Cole-Barnes is the founder and Lead Clinician at Faith Changes Behavior. She received her MA from Roosevelt University, where she majored in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Francesca is currently a doctoral student at The Institute for Clinical Social Work, where she aspires to obtain her Ph.D. in Clinical Social Work. Francesca has nearly 12 years of clinical experience providing trauma-informed psychotherapy to adults, parents, and children in various settings, including schools, home-based services, and community centers. Francesca also provides reflective supervision and consultation to professionals in the counseling field in the school milieu, early learning centers, and foster care settings.
In addition to Francesca's expertise in providing evidence-based practices and treatment to clients, she incorporates spirituality into sessions for clients who desire faith-based counseling. Francesca understands the importance of including a client's religious preference and faith in their treatment that reflects their core value and belief.
Francesca specializes in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy and Child-Parent Psychotherapy, allowing her to address issues such as daily life stressors, trauma, relational problems, and child-parent relationships. Francesca uses Psychodynamic Therapy to assist clients with exploring their early childhood experiences and how those experiences affect the client's present life. Francesca also uses Psychodynamic Therapy to bring the client's unconscious thoughts into conscious awareness. With the use of Psychodynamic Therapy and Child-Parent Psychotherapy, Francesa has assisted clients and parents with becoming their true authentic selves to live the lives they desire.
Francesca facilitates monthly and bi-monthly psychoeducational wellness groups for women and parents to engage, empower and enhance their overall well-being.
Francesca is also certified in Prepare/Enrich, the leading relationship inventory and skill-building program used nationally and internationally. It is built on a solid research foundation and significantly improves a couple's relationship. Prepare/Enrich is custom-tailored to a couple's relationship and provides couple exercises to build their relationship skills.
Francesca also has a special place in her heart for supporting aspiring clinicians to develop their skills and expertise as community-based or private practice clinicians. Francesca desires to support young clinicians seeking a start in the field just as seasoned clinicians supported her counseling journey.