480-300-2635

Innovative and Compassionate Therapy in Scottsdale

Selena Soni, LCSW, Founder
& Marguerite Higbee, LMSW

MUV's Approach to Therapy

We believe the therapeutic relationship should allow clients the security and space to have hard conversations. Our focus on rapport building and our awareness of the broad range of clinical needs clients deserve, inspired MUV creation and helped us to get out of the office.  MUV Counseling was opened after experiencing the benefits of walk + talk counseling sessions and Selena the founder wanted to bring walk + talk to her community. Flexibility being the hallmark of wellness, MUV Counseling provides in-person therapy in Scottsdale, AZ, Walk + Talk therapy on the Canal in Scottsdale, in-home in-person counseling and online therapy to anyone in Arizona, Oregon, or Washington state; literally meeting any client where they are!

Selena has been a Clinical Social Worker for more than 10 years, her training is rooted in social learning theory and she has focused and trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Solution Focused Therapy (SFT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART).

Today MUV offers individual counseling for adults struggling with anxiety, life transitions, depression, grief, Trauma/PTSD, new medical or psychiatric diagnoses, loss of identity, co-occurring issues, and anyone who hopes to improve their ability to be present.

How We Treat

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), represents a psychotherapeutic treatment method that helps clients to identify and change the disturbing and destructive thoughts they’re experiencing.

Negative thoughts create negative behavior and emotions and thereby affect your mental health. CBT focuses on changing that and helping each client overcome these thoughts.

Through CBT, coupled with trust and good communication, your therapist helps you shift the harmful and destructive thoughts into realistic and more objective ones.

CBT focuses on identifying the negative thought patterns and using various strategies that aid in overcoming these thoughts. These strategies can include role-playing, mindfulness, mental distractions, and journaling.

In this innovative counseling process, the therapist takes the primary initiative. People who seek help work with their counselor toward a previously established goal. The therapist explains the process in detail, and the client is often given homework that they should complete for the next session.

CBT is often used to treat addictions, anger issues, anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression, phobias, and panic attacks.

If you want to turn the next page in your life and get rid of grief, stress, depression, and fear,  a compassionate, licensed therapist at MUV Counseling is here for you.

Our innovative counseling approach has helped many people overcome their fear, stress, grief, and emotional pain. And we’re here to help you turn your life around for the better too.

Feel free to click the button below to send a message, or call us at our Scottsdale counseling center at 480.300.2635. We would love to help make things better for you. 

Learn More About Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) is a form of therapy that uses voluntary image replacement (VIR). It is very specific and direct. ART represents a revolutionary approach to counseling. This type of innovative counseling shares some similarities with Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), with a difference being that ART can achieve results more quickly effectively.

Individuals who experience traumatic life events in their childhood or adolescence may hold on more to the emotion than the memory itself. That’s because many times, memories fade away or even disappear as time passes; however, the feelings and emotions can remain indefinitely.

Someone who has experienced trauma in their life may become uncomfortable and emotional on the sheer thought of that event.

Sometimes they can’t remember the actual event, but just specific scenes and the emotions that come with it. In this way, every time they find themselves in a situation that brings these emotions back, it results in anxiety, fear, or sometimes even panic attacks.

Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) represents a revolutionary approach to counseling. This type of innovative counseling shares some similarities with Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), with a difference being that ART can achieve results more quickly effectively.

ART focuses on how your brain stores and processes memories.

Learn More About Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) focuses on encouraging clients to embrace their thoughts and feelings rather than fighting with each other or feeling guilty for them.

This type of innovative counseling paired with mindfulness has shown to be an effective treatment in both adolescents and adults for a wide range of disorders. It has helped many individuals turn their lives around and has even helped couples save their relationships.

What’s more, it can also provide you with an inspirational and life-affirming perspective of self-determination because it practices self-acceptance.

In this innovative counseling approach, the client faces their fears rather than avoiding them. When aiming to be more objective and accepting of your thoughts and feelings, commitment helps you achieve the goal.

You face your fears openly and commit to actions that help you facilitate your experiences. With this counseling approach, clients embrace their challenges and overcome them.

ACT can effectively treat numerous conditions, including depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, mixed anxiety disorders, psychosis, and chronic pain.

At MUV Counseling, we help our clients take a step forward into a better life. In acceptance and commitment therapy, you choose to face your fears to overcome them. 

Contact us at MUV Counseling today and schedule your appointment. For more information, click the button below or call us at 480.300.2635. You don’t have to face this alone.

Learn More About Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Solution focused therapy (SFT) is a counseling method where the main goal is to focus on the future rather than the past. The issues and symptoms that bring people to therapy are not targeted in this therapy method.

Instead, the therapist focuses on building a relationship with the client and encouraging them to think about the future positively.

In this counseling method, the client sets the goals they want to achieve in the future, and the therapist encourages them, offers support, and establishes a trusting environment. At the same time, they determine the skills, information, resources, and abilities required to succeed.

SFT is proven to be very useful for individual counseling and families, couples, and adults who want to restore their relationships.

Many people have difficulties finding the right tools to immediately manage symptoms of anxiety, depression, or agoraphobia and cope with challenges in their daily life, even though they already have what it takes. And this is one area where SFT can help.

SFT helps clients identify the right skills and tools to help them achieve their goals.

In SFT, the therapist helps the client clarify their goals and develop methods to achieve them. With good communication, the client can determine the steps needed to make their future a better place.

This counseling method isn’t just meant for individuals.

Some of the issues SFT can effectively treat are domestic abuse, addiction, behavioral problems, and relationship problems.

If you’re experiencing mental health concerns, schedule your appointment today and let us work together to develop a good vision of the future for you.

We offer both in-person counseling in Scottsdale and online therapy. Together, we can reach our goals and tackle even the most difficult challenges. 

Click the button below to send us a message, or call us at 480.300.2635 to get started down the road to feeling better.

Learn More About Solution focused Therapy

From a therapeutic perspective, mindfulness represents a conscious awareness of the present moment. It incorporates an open and non-judgmental attitude about the experience.

  • Mindfulness therapy is often combined with other treatments like EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and ART (Accelerated Resolution Therapy). And it has been proven that it can be very effective. Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is an evidenced based therapy which has fully integrated mindfulness skills and cognitive behavioral therapy skills.

  • It’s been found that mindfulness can result in relaxation and stress reduction. It can even help with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Mindfulness based stress reduction is real. And can really make a difference.

  • Through the use of techniques like scaling questions, Mindfulness practices involve increasing the awareness of our thoughts, feelings, and the action that hinders our personal growth and progress. 

Conditions that Mindfulness Therapy can help include; stress, anxiety, and depression.

If you need to talk about your situation in a non-judgmental environment, we offer private, in-person counseling in Scottsdale.

Learn More About Mindfulness Therapy

Integrated exposure techniques are methods of helping people confront their fears in a safe, controlled environment.

People who struggle with fear when faced with certain situations tend to avoid them. Avoiding these situations won’t cause the actual problem to go away. Rather than confront the fear, many people choose to ignore it, hoping it will go away.

In the short term, this can reduce the feelings of fear, but just like problems, ignoring fear isn’t a productive way of dealing with it. And over time, the fear will come out on the surface, causing more problems.

You could potentially end up becoming so fearful that you may get panic attacks when you have to meet with your friends, visit your family, or in any number of situations where there’s no reason to be afraid.

The fear can affect almost every aspect of your life so that every place you find yourself in could cause a panic attack. You will become distant from your friends, family, and community, avoid visiting many locations, break up good relationships, and even quit your job.

Many couples break their relationship because one of them holds the feeling and fear under the carpet, and once it all comes out, it becomes too much to handle.

With integrated exposure techniques, you can confront your worst fears in a safe and trusting place. A counselor will guide you throughout your process and be there for you at any given moment.

Integrated Exposure Techniques have shown to be especially helpful in people who have conditions such as phobias, panic attacks, social anxiety disorder, OCD, PTSD, low self-esteem, and depression.

To learn more about integrated exposure techniques or to get started, click the button below to send us a message. Or call us at 480.300.2635. It can be the first step towards a happier life.

I’m Selena Soni, LCSW, founder of MUV Counseling. Helping people is the reason I became a psychotherapist. Scottsdale was chosen because of its proximity to great walking trails. If you are considering therapy, Scottsdale is easy to get to from all parts of the Phoenix metro area. And there’s easy parking near our Camelback Rd. location. So whether you found us through a referral from a happy client, or a search like Scottsdale therapist, therapy near me or counseling near me, we are here to help you. Click the button below or call us at 480.300.2635 to get started

Learn More About Integrated Exposure Techniques

walk and talk therapy

Learn about MUV Counseling Costs

For more details about our therapy styles and options, call us at 480-300-2635 for a free 15 minute consultation or email us with your questions. If you’re ready to get started, schedule online here.