Cyndi Trapp

Board of Directors-President

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Cynthia Trapp has worked as Director of Angel House Maternity Home overseeing administration duties. Included were the planning and operation of an annual budget, and monthly financial statements. Duties included fundraising, marketing and community outreach. Working to develop other resources necessary to support the ministry which included grant writing. She was responsible for the

enhancement of Angel Houses image by being active and visible in the community and by working closely with other professional, civic and private organizations.

Lauren Rogers

Board of Directors

Secretary & Treasurer

Lisa Jones

Board of Directors

Heather Freeman, M.A., LPC, CSTS, CCTP

Founder & Executive Director, Counselor

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Heather began her work with at-risk youth and their families at a residential treatment center where she worked for almost ten years treating clients with trauma and abuse backgrounds, self mutilating behaviors, depression, suicide, anxiety, aggression, hallucinations (audio and visual) and parent-child interactions. She coordinated with military personnel (NCIS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation on sex trafficking cases, specialized in safety and reintegration assessments for sexual maladaptive behaviors and predatory behavior clients, facilitated anger management groups and de-escalation interventions training for direct-care staff, as well as implement a self-developed cognitive behavior therapy intervention. She holds a Master or Arts in Clinical Psychology and a Bachelor or Science in Clinical Psychology and Child and Family Development. She is a Certified Shame-Informed Treatment Specialist (CSTS), a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP)  and is a Missouri Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). Her passion of helping people unlock their God-given gifts to find and seek the purpose interwoven in their lives began when she was just 12 years old witnessing the struggles of loved ones who battled life-controlling adversities with minimal community resources. It was then that she dedicated her life to meeting the needs of her neighbors so that together as a community we can restore hope and empower families.

She is also the author of Waging War: A Christian’s Cognitive Behavioral Health Workbook, the program workbook for Awaken360; the word of God forming the basis of a cognitive behavioral approach to victory in your life and over darkness made available to all. She is also the co-author of 13 Reasons to Live, a book about the choice of life or death in a suicidal mind.

Annette Brandenburg, MS, NCC, PLPC

Counselor

Annette discovered a passion for helping others during her 12 years of service as a volunteer parent advocate for families and children with developmental disabilities in southwest Missouri. She has also served as a Sharing Our Strengths mentor with the Department of Mental Health, and recognized quickly that when families are matched with the right therapies, resources, services, and supports they and their children can thrive at school, at home, and in their communities. She understands this is no small task. She believes strong partnerships between parents, schools, and communities are necessary in order for children to achieve meaningful and healthy educational, spiritual, and developmental outcomes. She has experienced and witnessed firsthand that sometimes families need help accessing what their children need so they can be happy, healthy, and generalize skills across all the settings of their lives.  She has an in depth understanding of FAPE and IDEA, and has assisted many parents and educators throughout southwest Missouri by helping them navigate the IEP process.

 

Over the years she met many wonderful, inspiring therapists and educators who felt called to make a difference. However, she began to recognize many parents were struggling with their own mental health, and often had limited means to access help for themselves. She also recognized a shortage of therapists willing to get into the trenches with the families of children who have significant behavioral challenges related to disability and mental health. This inspired her to take volunteer parent advocacy to a professional level and become a licensed therapist. Her experience as a volunteer and as a parent herself combined with professional training help deepen her understanding of the issues that can impact the family structure while loving and raising children with disability and mental health related additional needs. 

 

Annette is a military and Gulf War veteran with 12 years of honorable service on active duty in the U.S. Army. She is a graduate of Evangel University with a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and is a Provisional Licensed Professional Counselor licensed in the state of Missouri working under the supervision of Terri Courtney-Miller, MS, LPC, RPT-S. 

 

She is also a National Certified Counselor working toward her certification in Play Therapy. She is EMDR trained, and is also a certified Prepare/Enrich Facilitator trained to help couples work on building strong marriages and healthy relationships. She completed a one year internship at The AutPlay Therapy Clinic, and an additional internship in Africa counseling with children in schools and orphanages, and with adults in residence at Teen Challenge in Nairobi and Kenya who struggle with alcohol and drug addiction. 

Debbie L. DeRossett, M.S, PLPC

Counselor

You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending. -C. S. Lewis

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Feelings of “I’m stuck” or “I’m lost” or “I’m alone” often accompany a person’s struggle with life difficulties. In the mind, a continuous replay of pain or anger or fear can put a person on a path of emotional struggle and hopelessness – and questioning, “Can there be a way out?”  

For many years of my own life journey, this was my experience until I found wise and loving people who selflessly gave time and compassion for my benefit.  These kind investments resulted in growth, encouragement and discovery – in spite of a negative beginning, I gained hope that I could change my ending.

I felt led to pass on this gift of hope by going back to graduate school at the age of 52 to become a clinical mental health counselor. I diligently studied acquiring the knowledge and skills to therapeutically address clients who daily grapple with emotional pain and loss, the crippling effects of anxiety and depression, or the discouragement of feeling neither seen nor heard. 

 

I pledge as a clinician to therapeutically place myself into the unique world of each client through the applications of attachment repair, trauma informed therapy, and generous portions of encouragement and unconditional acceptance to provide support needed towards the achievement of each client’s hopeful new ending.

 

Areas of Therapeutic Concentration: 

attachment issues; anxiety disorders; trauma resolution; depression; grief; disordered eating and body issues; reproductive trauma; and, faith-informed counseling.

 

Debbie DeRossett has an MS in Clinical Counseling from Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri. Debbie is currently licensed by the state of Missouri to provide clinical mental health care for Missouri residents as a Provisionally Licensed Professional Counselor under the supervision of Jenny Parker, MA, LPC.

Debbie has training and certifications in Treating Attachment Disorders in Adults, Motivational Interviewing, Reproductive Traumas, and Enneagram Coaching. Debbie is certified as a Prepare and Enrich marriage facilitator, and also as a certified provider of distance and tele-health therapy. Debbie is currently a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors.