Since 2009, Dr. Rikki Permenter has provided counseling services for the New Orleans area, the Baton Rouge area, and abroad.

With a heart for the Clinton, Louisiana community, she chose to establish Bent Tree Counseling in rural Louisiana, making professional & confidential counseling available close to her home & wherever you may be through telehealth.

 

Our Mission

Our mission is to help you find where you are, see where you want to go and remove the barriers in your path from here to there. On the way from here to there, Bent Tree Counseling strives to help you restore your relationships with others and yourself. 

 We specialize in treating missionaries, tcks, mks, ministers, pks, and expats struggling with diagnosable things like PTSD, Anxiety Disorders, Depressive Disorders, and Mood disorders. We also specialize in treating non-diagnosable things like trauma, relationship issues, stress, and life changes.

OUR METHODS

We have been trained in using various treatment modalities. There is no need to know which one you would like to use before your first session. During your first session, we can make a plan together to help you meet your goals. Please read below about a few of the most popular evidence-based practices we are trained in using. While these are the modalities used most frequently, they are only a handful of the ones we have been trained to use. 

Evidence-Based Practices 

  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy

    • EMDR is different than other "talk therapies" in that it changes how traumatic experiences are stored in the brain. By reprocessing distressing experiences, the feelings, beliefs, and even bodily sensations associated with them are reduced. While the events are not altogether forgotten, people can think about them with less distress.

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

    • CBT therapy teaches you to change your thoughts, which leads to changes in your feelings and actions to help you meet your goals.

  • Brief & Solutions Focused Therapy

    • Subconsciously you already know what works for you. This modality helps you identify what is already working for you and encourages you to do more of it to accomplish your goals.

  • Group Therapy

    • The Beatles had it right, "I get by with a little help from my friends." This method helps you find solace and encouragement within the context of a group of other individuals with similar struggles. We offer open and closed groups with various criteria for inclusion.

  • PREPARE / ENRICH

    • Want to get down to the nuts and bolts of your relationship? PREPARE / ENRICH is a tool (assessment) to help you see your relationship strengths and weaknesses and other things about yourself. We’re certified in assessing couples (married, unmarried, pre-married, re-married - couples of all kinds!)

  • Play Therapy

    • Kids learn & process through play. Play therapy utilizes toys & games to help kids process their emotions.

  • Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI)

    • Is parenting getting you down? TBRI is a way of thinking about attachment to your kiddos and a toolbox of resources to help you strengthen your relationship and attachment with them. We’re certified in providing this treatment modality for biological parents, step-parents, foster parents, and caregivers.