Family therapy and counseling in Montgomery, AL

Maybe you have been holding it together at work while quietly coming apart at home. Maybe your teenager has changed in ways you do not understand and you are out of ideas. Maybe you have reached a season where the strategies that carried you this far have simply stopped working. I am Claudia Arns-Hall, a Licensed Professional Counselor in Alabama, and I treat each client as if they were my only client. I came to counseling as a second career. For more than twenty years I worked in human resources, training, and leadership development for organizations including State Street, Revlon, and Southern Company, and I served as a human resources director before making the change. Because I felt a calling in my life to assist others, I earned my M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Liberty University, and I also hold an M.S. from Lesley University and a B.S. in Business Administration. For the past four years I have worked at Hill Crest Behavioral Health Services, first as a therapist on the Acute Adult Unit and Patient Intensive Care Unit and now as Clinical Coordinator for the acute unit, where I also train and mentor newer therapists. That is emergency-room-paced behavioral health work, which means very little you bring me will be unfamiliar and none of it will shock me. I have served both adults and adolescents. If you want someone thorough, involved, and genuinely focused on your individual situation rather than on a protocol, that is what I offer.

Thank you for taking this step of therapy. I am here to support you in your journey to healing. I'd like to support you with managing individual and Family concerns. We will utilize healthier coping skills, problem-solving techniques, decision-making tools and individualized effective techniques that serves your unique goals for therapy. I look forward to seeing you soon.

North Indian-Born. Montgomery, AL-Raised. Montevallo-Crafted. Birmingham-Local. USAF-Kid. Preacher's Kid deconstructing my idea of the Creator. Wife. Mom. Therapist. Cat-Lover. Slytherin House. Coffee Enthusiast. Writer. Speaker. - You are everything you have built. -

I am a family-oriented individual who understands the importance of balanced living, self-care, and healthy relationships. My formal education as a master's-level social worker, personal trials and errors, and 20-plus years of work experience with youth, individuals, and families have taught me that we are all unique human beings with our own life experiences with a shared desire for happiness. The difference in levels of individual and family satisfaction is often attributed to intentional effort to establish and maintain healthy relationships, mindsets, and perspectives. The goal of my practice is to empower hope, healing, & healthy relationships!

If you understand why you feel the way you do but still can’t seem to change the patterns keeping you stuck, therapy can go deeper than simply talking about what’s wrong.

Hi, I’m Emily Burgess, LCSW, PMH-C, CMNCS, owner of Conduit Counseling Collective. I work with clients who may look like they’re functioning well on the outside but internally feel anxious, overwhelmed, disconnected, stuck in old patterns, or exhausted from holding everything together.

My approach is warm, practical, collaborative, and whole-person focused. We’ll make space to understand your story and where your patterns came from—but we won’t stop there. I believe insight is most helpful when it leads to meaningful change in everyday life.

My work integrates evidence-based therapy with parts work, somatic approaches, nervous system regulation, and the connection between mental and physical wellbeing. When appropriate, we may explore how sleep, movement, nutrition, stress, relationships, and daily rhythms are impacting the way you feel. Mental health doesn’t exist separately from the rest of your body or your life.

I’ve worked in mental health since 2013 and have specialized experience in anxiety, life transitions, women’s mental health, and perinatal mental health.

Therapy with me is supportive, but it’s also active. I’ll bring curiosity, compassion, perspective, accountability—and probably some humor. You don’t need to have the right words or show up with everything figured out.

My goal is to help you better understand yourself, build trust in yourself, and turn insight into change that actually carries into your life.

Clients should know that I am deeply committed to creating a space where honesty, healing and emotional safety can exist without judgment. I understand that coming to therapy often requires courage, especially when life feels overwhelming, complicated, or uncertain. My approach is grounded in respect, authenticity, and clinical integrity. I value the therapeutic relationship and believe that meaningful change happens when clients feel seen, heard, and understood - not rushed, dismissed, or judged.

I bring both professional expertise and real-world understanding into my work. Due to having worked in a forensic psychiatric setting for over 16 years, I have experience working with complex emotional, behavioral, and trauma-related challenges. I approach each client with the belief that behavior is often a response to pain, and healing begins when we understand the story behind the behavior.

Clients should also know that I am direct, compassionate, and intentional in my work. I will support you, but I will also gently challenge patterns that may be keeping you stuck. My goal is not just to help you cope, but to help you grow, heal, and move toward a more grounded and peaceful version of yourself. I deeply respect each client’s pace and process. You are not expected to have everything figured out when you arrive. Therapy is a space for exploration, reflection, and growth.

Above all, I believe that healing is possible, change is achievable, and no one is too far gone to begin again.

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 30 over 30 years of experience in the mental health field and have worked with clients at all ages of the lifespan. I earned my Master of Social Work degree from Indiana University. I am licensed to practice in the states of Florida, Arizona, Indiana, Missouri and Alabama.

As a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and National Certified Counselor (NCC), I am passionate about helping individuals heal from the wounds that continue to shape their present. I am the CEO and Founder of Mental Freedom Counseling Services LLC, proudly recognized with the Best of Alabama 2026 Award in Counseling and Therapy Practices. I work with adults experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma, relationship challenges, life transitions, self-esteem concerns, and substance use, while maintaining a special passion for attachment wounds and the lasting impact of childhood experiences. I believe many of our current struggles make sense when we understand where they began.

My goal is to provide a compassionate, supportive environment where you feel truly seen and understood. Together, we'll identify patterns that no longer serve you, strengthen healthier ways of coping, and work toward lasting emotional freedom. Whether you're navigating painful relationships, unresolved trauma, or simply feeling stuck, I strive to help you build insight, healing, and confidence so you can create the life and relationships you deserve.