FIRESIDE
COUNSELING
Our Providers
At Fireside Counseling, our therapists are always available to empower you to live your best life. We are passionate, caring, understanding and only one phone call away.
Get in touch with one of our professional mental health practitioners below and start your journey towards healing.
Mike Green I NCC, LIMHP
At Fireside Counseling, my goal is to empower you to live your best life. I have over 15 years of experience in counseling students, professionals, athletes, children, couples and families. My aim is to help you meet your goals in a relaxed and comfortable setting.
My specialties include behavioral modification with children and adolescents, depression, anxiety, trauma, sports/performance counseling, interpersonal relationships, stress management and life transitions. My clients come from very diverse populations throughout the state.
While earning my Bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, I played football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers as an offensive lineman. I then went on to earn my Masters degree from the University of Nebraska, Omaha (2005). My clinical experience includes outpatient therapy, adolescent treatment group homes and family services agencies.
Lacy Urbanski I MS, LIMHP
Hello! I enjoy helping individuals, couples, and families with tackling life’s challenges and struggles. I have experience working with clients of all ages, from five years of age to our experienced senior population.
My specialities include anxiety, depression, stress, relationship issues, developmental disabilities, mood disorders, conduct disorders, and personality disorders.
My behavioral health experience includes inpatient mental health care, residential treatment care, in-home mental health services, outpatient services, and crisis intervention.
It is a pleasure and an honor to help others with improving their behavioral, mental, and emotional well-being.
Naomi Kigondu I MSN, APRN, PMHNP-BC, FMP-C
I am a dual-board certified psychiatric and family nurse practitioner licensed in Nebraska and Iowa. I have over five years of experience providing primary and psychiatric care to a broad spectrum of patients. I received my BSN and MSN from the University of Nebraska Medical Center before pursuing my psychiatry specialization at Purdue Global University.
Mental health is an area in which I am particularly interested. I provide client-centered care and treatments based on evidence-based guidelines by diagnosing patients with the most recent edition of the DSM and listening to their concerns and symptoms. I specialize in anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders, memory disorders, mood disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),personality disorders, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), insomnia among others.
By utilizing the most recent guidelines for pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy, among other interventions, I hope to guide my clients toward self-actualization and healing. I enjoy working with my clients and believe in creating a welcoming environment where people can seek support.
Jessica Carpenter I LICSW
Do you feel like there are never going to be any better days ahead? My goal working with you is to help you see those better days can be a reality not a distance dream. One of the things that I have love about being a therapist is that I can work with diverse clients, with diverse needs, and diverse goals. No client is the same and that is how I approach treatment, individually. I integrate several different therapeutic approaches to meet client's individual needs.
Some of my specialties include adults, families, children/adolescents, parenting, severe persistent mental illness, suicide/self-harm, LGBT+, personality disorders, trauma, abuse, and veterans. I operate from an evidenced based and trauma informed approach. I have completed training/certifications in Low-cog populations/Autism, DBT, TF-CBT, and EMDR.
If you want to make a change for the better and find your Better Days ahead schedule your first session now. I offer flexible scheduling and video sessions to accommodate your life. Change only begins with taking the first step and I want to be there to help you achieve your goals.
Melissa Jansen I LMHP
Melissa Jansen is a licensed mental health practitioner under Nebraska State License Number 5659. Melissa currently works as a school social worker with Bellevue Public Schools assisting families with mental health care, social skills, coping mechanisms, and basic needs. Melissa focuses on care through approaches such as cognitive behavior, task centered, problem solving therapy along with any others that may be appropriate.
Shawna Plendl I LMHP
Shawna has extensive experience working with children and families in the educational setting addressing mental and behavioral health needs. She believes relationship building is the foundation for a child’s development. All children grow and thrive in the context of close and dependable relationships. Shawna uses a mixture of mindful practice, strengths-based, solution focused, and cognitive behavioral approaches to allow the child to process thoughts and emotions. Her goal is to assist children to address and resolve problems independently with confidence. Therapy is a collaborative effort, so Shawna values the importance of communication and partnership with home and school.
Child/Adolescent Specialties include: school-related concerns, emotional regulation, grief, depression, anxiety, anger, peer related concerns, low self esteem, parent-child relationships and behavioral issues.
Andy Vuorela I MS, PLMHP
Andy has fifteen years working with teens struggling with behavioral problems. He strongly feels that work left an impact on him for his work in the field of human services. Andy decided to pursue a career as an attorney. While practicing law, he missed the personal interactions and satisfaction of helping people on a daily basis. This prompted him to go back to school to become a mental health therapist.
Andy realizes it is not possible for everyone to attend therapy during normal business hours, therefore he offers evening and weekend availability.
Dena Stemm I LIMHP, LCSW
Dena has over 15 years of mental health outpatient service experience, intensive family therapy experience as well as residential treatment care including individual and group counseling experience. She enjoys working with older adolescents as well as adults. She is trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as well as Trauma Focus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Her specialties include: anxiety, depression, grief/loss, anger management, self esteem, parent-child relationships and behavioral issues in school or in the home. She has evening telehealth appointments available at this time only.