Counseling Las Cruces is not only what Andrea Dresser does, it’s also the name of her business. And it’s moved!
Counseling Las Cruces is now located at 530 N. Church St. The move from the old location on Wyatt Drive took place in July.
Dresser’s newly renovated 9,000-square-foot facility (the former home of the Doña Ana County Cooperative Extension Service) is next door to American Linen and Uniform Supply Company on Church Street. Park in the lot behind the building, on Campo Street, near the intersection of Campo and east Hadley Avenue, and enter through the back door.
Dresser moved to Las Cruces in 2009 and has been in private practice since 2012. She has a master’s degree in marriage, family and child therapy and is a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) and a certified sex therapist (CST).
Dresser sees several patients a week in addition to running the business. She has 32 full- and part-time staff, including many who work remotely, she said. That means clients can come to the office or receive online therapy. Remote therapy is HIPAA compliant, she said. (HIPAA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, a federal law setting standards to protect patients’ health information.)
Dresser’s new office has 23 meeting rooms for those who wish to meet in person, she said.
Counseling Las Cruces provides anxiety, depression and trauma counseling; counseling for new mothers; Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), family therapy; marriage counseling; LGBTQIA therapy; and individual therapy.
“We do everything,” Dresser said.
Counseling Las Cruces’ services are available to adults and children ages 4 and older.
“We see a lot of seniors,” she said. “We see a lot of veterans.”
Counseling Las Cruces also offers group therapy and has a pre-natal mental health group, she said. It also is about to start a drama therapy group that will include role playing, art and music.
“I’m excited about that,” Dresser said.
Clients are sometimes vague about what’s troubling them, she said, even in their own minds.
They know, “’I’m not feeling myself,’” Dresser said, and just need someone to talk to.
“Everyone has their unique story,” she said, and “their own trauma history.”
“There is a lot of uncertainty in the world,” Dresser said. That raises stress levels, she said. But more people also are aware of their distress and are reaching out for help.
“When COVID hit, the phone stopped ringing for about three weeks,” Dresser said, “then it started ringing off the hook.”
An increase in calls for couples therapy resulted, she said, because people were forced to stay home together. Others have become isolated and need someone to talk to.
Counseling Las Cruces takes Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance, she said.
Her staff can work out sessions to accommodate clients’ budgets and schedules.
Dresser also has a counseling office in Santa Fe.
For more information, call 575-526-9878. Visit https://counselinglascruces.com/.
