Psychotherapist
"My goal is to provide my culturally diverse clients with the best personalized mental health assessment and care . I go the extra mile to work with my clients, to help them to make the best life decisions that would not only meet their individual emotional needs, but also enhance their overall adjustments. My clients benefit from my decades of multinational and multicultural professional experiences and trainings. I deliver my services with utmost humility, and with the ultimate purpose of meeting the needs of my clients. I am easy to talk with, and I provide a relaxed atmosphere for comfortable therapeutic engagement. My humanity finds expression in the compassion, empathy, patience, and care that I extend to my clients. With the belief that one cap does not fit all, and that what works for client A may not work for client B, I go eclectic and tailor my therapeutic approaches to accommodate individual differences while maintaining all therapeutic standards and clinical competences. I use my knowledge of various evidence-based and solution-focused treatment options to meet my clients’ mental health and emotional needs. As an immigrant, I can relate to your adjustment issues. As a survivor of a civil war and multiple natural disasters, I can relate to your trauma. As a teacher, I am passionate about your education and academic success. As a parent, I feel your pain and that of your family. As a wife, I can relate to your interpersonal relationship issues. All these, coupled with decades of professional training and experiences, provide me with the expertise, tools and skills needed to navigate your problems and needs with you. I am here to guide you and walk with you on your emotional journey." Dr. Ngozi Okose
Education/Training:
A multi-lingual, Dr. Okose’s professional training and experience are interdisciplinary, spanning the broad areas of Education, French, Language Arts, Counseling and Strategic Management. Dr. Okose obtained her post graduate degrees from the University of Ibadan, the University of Nigeria, and Harvard University. She also spent a year of language training at Université de Nice in France.
Specialized trainings:
- Post-doctoral training in Psychology with focus on Clinical Assessment.
- Specialized training in Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) at Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research in Philadelphia under Aaron and Judith Beck (Leaders in CBT).
- Trauma and Disaster Mental Health with Red Cross Foundation and volunteers as a Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Counselor.
- Counseling in the Virtual World: Tele-Behavioral Health under the American Counseling Association (ACA).
Licenses/Board Certifications
- Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Texas #18111, 2003-Date.
- Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor, Texas- Active.
- National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC); National Certified Counselor (NCC)
- National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC); Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor (CCMHC).
Experience/Services
In the academia:
Dr. Okose started her career as a core faculty member at the University of Nigeria. For over a decade, she taught many undergraduate and graduate level courses in counseling, supervised counselors in training, published professional articles, and presented papers at national and international conferences and institutes. She also coordinated counseling programs and curriculum development, served in and chaired faculty and university committees, and provided guidance and counseling services to members of the university community.
Counseling and Psychotherapy:
- Dr. Ngozi Okose has been in private practice in Houston, Texas for over 19 years following five years of
intense clinical internship. She has counseling and
assessment/evaluation experiences with expertise in these areas:
- Individuals,
- Groups,
- Family counseling,
- Play Therapy.
- Areas of focus
Dr. Okose has experience with clients who suffer from:- ADHD
- Adjustment Disorders
- Anger
- Anxiety
- Behavioral issues
- Bipolar Disorder
- Bullying
- Conduct Disorders
- Conflict
- Coping Skills
- Crisis/Disaster intervention
- Depression
- Domestic abuse/violence
- Education intervention
- Emotional Disturbance
- Family related problems
- Grief/Loss, and Bereavement;
- Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
- Parenting
- Relationship Problems
- School Related Problems
- Self Esteem
- Stress
- Trauma and PTSD
- Corona-virus anxiety/relief support
Psychological Testing/Mental Health Evaluations:
➢Immigration Evaluation/Assessment in the following areas:
Asylum Cases; – provide evidence for the persecution that your clients suffered, or may suffer if returned to their home country; explain the psychological impact of the harm inflicted on them; and detailing the emotional impact of such trauma on mental health.
Extreme Hardship Cases; –focus on client’s psychological distress such as: illness; disability; professional, financial, or academic hardship; adverse home-country conditions that would affect the petitioner or their family members; and/or hardship associated with victims of crime U-Visa, or victims of human trafficking T-Visa.
VAWA Cases – (VAWA: Violence Against Women Act); Focus on a spouse/partner abused by a US citizen or a US permanent resident partner, detailing the client’s psychological symptoms which are common for domestic abuse/violence victims.
➢Evaluation for Examination Accommodation
College Exams
Professional Exams
Entrance Exams
Board/Licensing Exams
Expert Witness Services/Testimony/Forensic Evaluation
- Forensic Evaluations
- Custody Evaluations and Parenting Plans
- Courtroom Testimony in Texas
Clients Focus
Ages: Clients of diverse life stages, 3-79 years.
Client Diversity: Clients of diverse ethnicity and culture; Caucasians, Blacks, Hispanics and Asians. Very inclusive practice; no discrimination by gender and socioeconomic status.
Global Reach/ Immigrant and Refugees: As an immigrant with multicultural training, Dr. Okose understands her clients issues from their cultural perspectives. She has a broad clinical experience with immigrants and refugees from Mexico, the Caribbean, El Salvador, Cuba, Brazil, Haiti, Somalia, Liberia, Eretria, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana,……
Expats: Dr. Okose also work with expats and their families from different parts of the world struggling to make emotional adjustments needed to survive in a foreign country.
Online/Telemental/Telebehavioral Health Services.
Dr. Ngozi Okose uses HIPPA-compliant Tele-mental/Tele-behavioral health platforms to ensure high level security for online services.
With the Covid 19 pandemic, she also provides tele-mentalhealth services to alleviate a broad spectrum of psychiatric disorders to people across the continents of Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America.
Pro bono Services: Sometimes she provides pro-bono services to underprivileged.
Therapeutic Approaches
Dr. Okose goes eclectic and tailors her approaches to accommodate individual differences while maintaining all therapeutic standards and clinical competences. Dr. Okose uses her knowledge of various evidence-based and solution-focused treatment options to meet her clients’ mental health and emotional needs.
Supervision
Dr. Okose is a Licensed Supervisor with the State of Texas Board of Examiners for Professional Counselors.
She has supervised and mentored many mental health interns and professionals in training. She is also an Honorary Clinical Instructor for Walden University, partnering with the university to provide onsite supervision and mentoring for her students.
Professional Affiliations
Dr. Okose has affiliation with many professional organizations and, to maintain professional competence, she constantly engages in professional workshops and trainings with, and makes presentations at some of these organizations.
- American Counseling Association
- American Mental Health Counseling Association
- International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors
- Association for Multi-cultural Counseling and Development
- Texas Counseling Association
- Counseling Practitioners’ Round Table of the International Association for Counseling; an organization with focus on improving global mental health and well-being.
Dr. Okose also had affiliations with the Counseling Association of Nigeria, and African Network for the Prevention and Protection of Child Abuse and Neglect. Dr. Okose is a child advocate and co-authored an article; "Child Abuse and Neglect: Counseling and Healing Practices with People of African Ancestry. "
With the above trainings and experiences, Dr. Okose is well prepared to assess, diagnose and treat clients of diverse culture who are struggling with a variety of mental health issues.
Dr. Okose is married with three children. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family, sewing, catching up on News and documentaries, and traveling. She also creates time to provide crises counseling services to victims of disaster (such as during hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Harvey), and families dealing with grief and trauma from losing members to gun violence in the USA and to crises from regional violence, poverty, and AIDS in Sub Sahara Africa.