Master Student Therapist Intern

Jacob enjoys working with individuals, couples, and families to improve mental health as well as satisfaction and well-being in life. Jacob believes that counseling services are for everyone and seeks to improve his cultural competency on an ongoing basis to provide best practices to all his clients. Working through an existential perspective Jacob strives to find and build meaning in people’s lives and help them on their path to reaching mental wellness and their authentic selves.

After graduating from Brigham Young University – Idaho in 2019 Jacob started, and is currently working on, his Master’s degree at Idaho State University in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Jacob has been interning and counseling individuals since January 2021 and was invited to join the Chi Sigma Iota honor society.

Being born and raised in Rexburg Jacob knows the area, the culture, and the community. He enjoys road trips with his family and having fun. He loves anything that is great fun and builds relationships like tabletop games, yard games, and visiting fun new places.

I strive to live and work using this Mr. Rogers statement as my motto: “When we talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary.”  My goal is to help children, individuals, and families learn to identify their emotions and find ways to express them that are healing and serve as building blocks for healthy lives and relationships. 

Currently, I am pursuing a Master of Social Work at Northwest Nazarene University, and I received a bachelor’s degree in Child Development from Brigham Young University Idaho. I currently work for Madison Cares, the mental health department of Madison School District. As a parent educator and Care Coordinator, I work with families to reach their children's developmental and social-emotional milestones. I also partner with teachers and families to teach children coping skills, teach parenting classes, and coordinate Madison Cares’ summer camp program. 

Rayo likes working in a variety of settings from individual to co-facilitating groups. His philosophy on life is that all people are capable, sometimes they need a little help though. As well, mental health is a part of being healthy and can't be seen in isolation according to him. He also sees all people as basically good. However, if needs aren't being met or people are hurting then they often run into problems with mental health and can appear to other people as "bad".

To Rayo, culture plays such a large part of our lives that it can't be ignored, many people aren't even aware of how much their culture plays into their mental health. This is always a part of how he works with people seeking services. It has been an important part of his life since he has moved a great deal and lived out of the country twice and seen how beautifully different other people can be.

He graduated from BYU-I in 2020 and promptly began his Masters degree in Counseling with an emphasis in Clinical Mental Health at Idaho State University. He has been working in the clinical setting since February 2021. 

Whitney is honored to be a part of the Centerpoint Counseling team as she completes her Master’s Degree from Adam’s State University in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.

Through her life experience, education and training, Whitney recognizes, no matter what age, cultural background or religion, all humans experience trauma. While trauma can permanently change us, with some help, we can learn to survive and even thrive. During the therapy process Whitney can assist clients in recognizing the impact of their trauma, build a support system, and develop healthy lifestyle skills to help manage and overcome the lasting impact of trauma.

Whitney’s goal is to help individuals who have lost a loved one to suicide, suicide survivors themselves or those who continue to be impacted with suicide in some way. Whitney also assists clients with sexual identity, sexual orientation and sexual issues relating to past sexual trauma, sexual issues within relationships and identifying healthy vs unhealthy sexuality.

Using Cognitive Behavior Therapy techniques, Whitney assists clients in  discovering how to process the past in order to build a future. She also incorporates client’s spiritual beliefs into the treatment protocol in order to holistically address their needs. 

Whitney’s goals as a clinical mental health counselor include finishing her degree in 2023, qualifying for licensure through the State of Idaho, and initiate a consortium for mental health care professionals in Southeastern Idaho.

Whitney loves calling Idaho home. Some of her favorite activities include high school athletics, cooking, cross-country skiing, grant writing, being with her kids and long car rides with her husband Ron.