Dr. Jeff Peterson, PhD, is currently seeing adults, adolescents, and couples in the Siouxland area as part of 1 Psychiatry, PC in the Dakota Dunes, located in North Sioux City, SD. He is a Nationally Certified Counselor and Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor who is currently an assistant professor in the School of Education and Counseling at Wayne State College (Nebraska State College). Prior to this he taught at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs, Avila University in Kansas City, and Northwestern University in Evanston. He maintains both an in-person and virtual counseling private practice, where he focuses on self-esteem issues, managing stress, couples therapy, anxiety and depression, dealing with shame and addiction, and sexual or gender identity issues.

He is a national presenter for PESI, one of the nation's leading continuing education organizations that work with the world’s leading experts to create seminars, conferences, videos and books for mental health professionals across the nation. Dr. Peterson currently serves on the editorial review board for the American Counseling Association and has lectured to mental health professionals throughout the country on diversity, cultural competency, ethical concerns in therapy, building growth-fostering relationships, and the treatment of anger and shame. He is the co-founder and organizer of the Healthcare Guild (healthcareguild.com), a national non-profit organization dedicated to helping sexual and gender minorities find affirming and culturally competent health care. Dr. Peterson is a graduate of the University of Iowa and Walden University, with a PhD in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Education and Supervision.

Dr. Peterson's current credentials are PhD, LPCMH, LIMHC, LMHC, NCC, PCC, which are as follows: Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD), Licensed Professional Counselor Mental Health (LCPMH), Licensed Independent Mental Health Counselor (LIMHC), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), Counselor Educator and Supervisor (ACES), National Board Certified Counselor (NCC), and National Professional Certified Coach (PCC) in the states of South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska. Dr. Peterson was formerly licensed as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Missouri and Colorado, a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in Kansas, and a Clinical Mental Health Counselor (CMHC) in Utah. Dr. Peterson is a faculty advisor for Chi Sigma Iota graduate academic honor society, and a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success and Golden Key honors societies. He is also a two-time graduate scholarship recipient with over 4000 hours of mental-health based volunteer community service.

Dr. Peterson was previously a behavioral health clinician at Saint Luke’s Hospital in their Employee Assistance Program, as well as an Emergency Room behavioral health assessment clinician. He is also a former CARF (Commission on the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) IOP (Intensive Outpatient) Dual-Diagnosis program facilitator. His private practice focuses on: managing stress, recovering from previous trauma, couples communication, relationship enhancement, managing general and social anxiety, life coaching and performance improvement, dealing with shame, managing addiction, and working through sexual or gender identity issues. Dr. Peterson is also a Counselor Supervisor who provides supervision for those attaining Licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor, Psychologist, or Social Worker.

Dr. Peterson has been an invited keynote speaker for Laureate Education, presenting TED-style talks to over 500 people in major metropolitan areas such as San Diego, Hawaii, Orlando, and Houston, on the topic of diversity, global responsibility, and fostering positive social change. He presented at the national American Medical Association (GLMA) Conference about ethical concerns in therapy, at the national ACES (Association for Counselor Education and Supervision) Conference on how to deal with the psychological effects of shame, at the Colorado Counseling Association Conference on how to avoid Microaggressions in a clinical setting, the Nebraska Counseling Association (NCA) on diversity issues, and has presented on these topics for Mental Health America (MHA), Good Therapy, Research Psychiatric Hospital, Saint Luke's Health System, Missouri Health Equity Collaborative (MOHEC), and several community mental health centers in Colorado, Utah, Missouri, and Kansas.

ASK DR. P.

What is the Difference Between a Counselor, Psychiatrist, Nurse Practitioner, Psychologist, or Social Worker?

 A psychiatrist (MD, DO) is a medical doctor who went through medical school.  A nurse practitioner (NP, DNP, APRN) is usually either a masters or doctoral level trained nurse. Both of these designations have the training required to prescribe medication and often work in tandem with counselors, psychologists, and social workers in supplementing therapy via the use of medication or medical intervention. In most states Psychologists, Counselors, and Social Workers are not licensed to dispense medication. However, research has proven that medication alone is not a long-term solution for most individual’s challenges.  Instead, a combination of therapy and medication is oftentimes more effective than medication alone. In many states a psychologist and counselor educator both have doctoral level training such as a PhD, PsyD, or EdD. Both have significant training in counseling, although counselor educators may have more training specifically in mental health counseling. In some states a psychologist could also have only a masters degree, similar to a licensed professional counselor (LPC) or licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). Some social workers have only a bachelors degree, although an LCSW requires a masters degree. A licensed clinical professional counselor, licensed clinical social worker, and licensed psychologist are all in the family referred to as psychotherapists and will all have a minimum of a masters degree, with significant training and exam-licensed proficiency to counsel the majority of mental health challenges. I am a licensed clinical professional counselor, licensed professional counselor, counselor educator, counselor supervisor, board certified national counselor, and a professional certified coach with a PhD in counselor education and supervision.

What is Your Theoretical Approach to Counseling?

Relational Psychotherapy (Relational-Cultural Therapy)

Emotionally Focused Therapy (E.F.T.)

Somatic Experiencing (S.E.)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (C.B.T.)

All of these approaches are part of my therapeutic toolbox, which are often used in combination with one another.  One example is the use of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). CBT is well known for helping individuals identify and change unhealthy or distorted thought patterns. These thought patterns can then trigger emotional responses that form a chain of emotional events. This process happens so quickly that it is often outside of the awareness of an individual and therefore requires a significant process of unraveling over time.  However, when used alone it can oftentimes fall short of addressing the "whole individual." 

Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (R.E.B.T.)

For example, sometimes CBT is used in conjunction with Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT), which is behavioral in nature and helps individuals develop new skills for coping with emotions and interacting with others. This involves developing mindful awareness based on living in the present moment and accepting each moment as it is without influence from past preconceived beliefs or emotions. REBT helps a client accept the present moment with a non-judgmental stance and works towards developing new models of interacting with self and others. 

Psychoanalytic & Psychodynamic Counseling

In addition, it is sometimes beneficial to look at the developmental "cause" of some of our psychological patterns. It could therefore be helpful to employ the use of psychoanalysis or psychodynamic approaches, which focus on analyzing past events and how those events shape our present and future. This often involves looking at your attachment to your surroundings, care providers, role-models, and peers. It also strives to help an individual develop awareness and coping skills for dealing with past unresolved issues. 

Gestalt Therapy & Existential Therapy

Gestalt and Existential therapy focus on pulling everything together by contextualizing the whole person or whole experience with the feelings, thoughts, or behaviors that an individual is struggling with. 

NeuroLinguistic Programming (N.L.P.)

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is a goal-focused approach used in coaching to help individuals understand how neurological pathways can be reshaped in an effort to change behaviors, thoughts, and feelings.

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (M.B.S.R.)

And finally, mindfulness can be a great skill for anyone seeking relief from stress and anxiety.  Mindfulness focuses on bringing our attention to the present moment, free from judgment and with a sense of curiosity. This helps an individual cope with situations where our mind might be tempted to hijack our attention with speculation and fear, and to instead accept the reality that many things in life are outside of our control, and we can gain relief by focusing on those things that we can control.