You Are Not Alone
HOMETOWN PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
Founded in 2016, Olive Tree Counseling is a Texarkana-based private counseling practice offering a wide range of services to adolescents, adults, couples, and families. For nearly a decade, Olive Tree has served as a trusted place in the Ark-La-Tex for people to talk, heal, and be heard. Located in the heart of downtown Texarkana, the practice has built its reputation on offering boutique, relationship-driven care with the warmth of a hometown practice and the clinical excellence of a highly specialized team.
Mental health touches nearly every family in this country, whether people talk about it openly or not. Recent data shows 19 percent of U.S. adults have been told by a healthcare professional they have a depressive disorder, and 12 percent regularly report ongoing feelings of worry, nervousness, or anxiety. Among teenagers, the numbers are even harder to ignore. Two in five U.S. high school students report experiencing symptoms of depression severe enough to disrupt their daily lives. Yet only 1 in 7 adults received counseling or therapy from a mental health professional in the last year. The gap between those who need help and those who seek it is exactly the space Olive Tree exists to meet.
The practice takes a personal approach rather than a one-size-fits-all model. Each client comes to Olive Tree carrying unique experiences, struggles, and strengths. Rather than relying on rigid systems or standardized formulas, the team tailors treatment to each person and family, believing the therapeutic relationship itself is one of the most powerful tools for healing.
That philosophy extends across a team of eleven therapists, each bringing specialized training and unique strengths to the table. Billy Eldridge, a Licensed Professional Counselor and National Certified Counselor, works extensively with trauma, family systems, addiction recovery, and crisis intervention, helping clients feel grounded, understood, and supported. Randy Thomason brings experience working with substance use, trauma, and relational healing, offering an approach that is both direct and deeply compassionate.
Several therapists focus specifically on children, teens, and families. Melissa Cook believes healing begins with connection, helping children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families strengthen relationships, understand emotions, and rebuild safety and belonging. Bianca Kisselburg and Addison Thomason both bring specialized sandtray therapy training into their work, while Brandi Diaz DeLeon offers focused expertise in infant mental health and early attachment. Karen Carpenter supports clients across all stages of life through anxiety, parenting challenges, and major transitions, while Karen Johnson, Sydney Schoen, Shannon Hicks, and Bayan Salameh round out a team equipped to meet clients wherever they are—whether it’s their first time in therapy or they’re returning in the middle of life’s hardest seasons.
What sets Olive Tree apart is its ability to remain intentionally personal. While larger systems often face limitations in flexibility and responsiveness, Olive Tree has built its model around staying connected, accessible, and deeply invested in the people it serves. From marital intensives and crisis teen interventions to family-centered care and trauma-informed counseling, Olive Tree offers specialized services that meet people in real time, when they need it most.
Behind the statistics are real people, real families, and real Texarkana neighbors carrying more than anyone can see from the outside. At Olive Tree, healing can feel a lot like sitting across from someone who knows your town, understands your story, and is willing to walk with you through whatever comes next.
Olive Tree Counseling
olivetreetxk.com
(903) 336-3484
[email protected]
