My Full Story

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Where I started

I grew up in Gwinnett County, just northeast of Atlanta. I graduated from Auburn University in 1998 with a degree in Rehabilitation Services, then spent two years in Stockbridge running the Mobile Assessment Unit for WORKTEC — an innovative program still going today, providing employment, community services, behavioral health, and workforce training.

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I kept getting in trouble for spending too long on my reports and turning solo interviews into makeshift therapy sessions. That was probably a sign. I went back to school.

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Two degrees, one decision

Helping people find their strengths, talents, and passions led me to a master's in Professional Counseling at Georgia State University — and, at the same time, a second master's in Christian Psychological Studies at Richmont University.

The theology degree was a tough but natural call. To do right by people who'd been harmed by clergy or by the Church itself, I wanted a foundation that brought psychology and theology together — not just one or the other.

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That degree, combined with growing up in a fundamentalist religious environment myself, gives me a particular kind of understanding for people healing from doctrines that went too far, contributed to abuse at home, or left them isolated in ways that made adulthood complicated. My own religious deconstruction has been thorough, and it's ongoing. I believe it's intrinsically tied to deconstructing the colonial roots of my white heritage, too — I call it ancestral dialysis. This blood needs regular cleansing, and regular infusions of love.

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This additional full-azz degree wasn't required. I just knew it was the right call.

I finished both degrees in early 2004 and got licensed on Valentine's Day, 2007.

 

Where the work has taken me

Since then, I've split my time mainly between two things: being a relationship translator for couples at every stage of commitment, and doing deep healing work alongside survivors of sexual trauma.

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Group therapy is a beautiful, but entirely different animal than the individual or couples space! Before the pandemic, I ran a long-term, multi-gender Process group (everyone could use a relationship class in school, honestly). Over the years I've also run an Advanced Sexual Trauma group (2015–2021) and a bookclub-style support group for sexual trauma survivors. As of 2026, I'm two years into a rest period from groups. But be ready!

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In late 2022, I moved to San Diego and expanded my group work into the TEAL Trauma Groups, offered online through 2024. I also co-own RESET: Trauma Unstuck with Dr. SaDohl Jones, and in 2023 we launched The F.O.F. Podcast, connecting survivors to resources across the U.S. and internationally.

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Early in my career, I worked in corrections — and that experience is a big part of why I care so much about helping people raise their self-awareness, reduce the stigma around mental illness, and slow down generational patterns of trauma.

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From 2012 to 2019, I ran the Atlanta office for Relationship Counseling Center, based out of San Francisco. Its founder, Sevin Philips, had a vision for connecting people — coupled or not — with professionals trained to help them build better relationships. He was warm, well-known on the West Coast, and adored by everyone who worked with him. He passed away suddenly from illness, and we still miss him.

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On the theology degree

I'm always glad to talk through questions about this. There's been real harm and abuse within the Church, and I pursued this education specifically to be equipped for that. I don't hold exclusionary or conservative beliefs that would get in the way of good therapy — I welcome people who are atheist, agnostic, spiritual, or religious, and we can talk through what that looks like for you specifically in our first session.

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Professional affiliations

I'm a member of the Georgia chapter of the Licensed Professional Counselors Association, the California Association for Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors, the Atlanta Group Psychotherapy Society, and the American Group Psychotherapy Association.

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J. Claire Horner, GA LPC #04830
J. Claire Horner, CA LPCC #12161