Resident in Counseling 

Mia Wooldridge is a Resident in Counseling who has worked within the Central Virginia community as both a special educator and mental health counselor for over 20 years. Mia began her community-based career working with adolescent males in the juvenile justice system as a teacher’s assistant and quickly found her passion as a Special Education teacher working with children with hearing impairment and pervasive developmental delays. Within 5 years Mia became sole proprietor, then program director of a dynamic Reggio Emilia-inspired faith-based preschool. She expanded her passion to teaching children, adolescents, and their families, and designed a specialized curriculum until 2017, when the winds of her professional season shifted to mental health counseling with Family Focus, Inc.

Under the support and guidance of the Family Focus, Inc. team, Mia added her background in working with children with disabilities and those children with difficult and challenging behaviors to the lens of a QMHP A & C.

Since joining Family Focus in 2017, Mia has had the opportunity to grow and soar with families through evidence-based models, such as Functional Family Therapy, where she has inspired and reached youth of all ages and their parents through a variety of community-based mental health and behavioral programs. Mia has been certified in Collaborative Problem Solving, and Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS).

Currently, Mia is working with children, adolescents, and their parents, in the outpatient setting, to manage a multiplicity of mental health and behavioral diagnoses with an eclectic focus often using Dialectical Behavioral approaches to aid in reducing symptoms of severe depression, anxiety, and trauma. Mia is a hands-on relatable practitioner who meets children and families where they are, whether it be through talking, art, music,  digital platforms, or even crochet. She will match the client’s needs and support the overall health and well-being of every client and family with whom she has been privileged to work.

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Mia is accepting new clients.  Please contact her scheduling coordinator for availability.