Individual and Couples Counseling Now Available in the Joplin/Webb City Area!

May 21, 2025May 21, 2025 / trotters41 / 2 Comments

Hello there, and thanks for stopping by!

I’m so excited to offer individual and couples counseling in Southwest Missouri! If you’re interested in setting up a session, please visit Stone and Sky Counseling or see my listing on Psychology Today. Three-day individual and couples counseling intensives are also available.

Background
Since 2014, I have had the privilege of walking alongside hundreds of couples and individuals in dozens of countries. As a pastoral counselor, empathetic coach, Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC), and Provisionally Licensed Professional Counselor (PLPC), I have experience journeying with people through issues such as grief and loss, life transitions, anxiety, ADHD, depression, trauma, OCD, abuse (spiritual, sexual, physical, emotional), debriefing, Autism, ministry burnout, addictions, and more. With all clients, I take a person-centered, trauma-informed, experiential approach.

Before moving to Cambodia in 2012, I worked bi-vocationally as an ER/trauma nurse and youth and worship pastor. I am also a licensed attorney in California and hold a master’s in clinical mental health counseling from Colorado Christian University. As a PLPC, I am supervised by Dr. Karl Wendt, LPC #001808.

For Pastors and Ministry Folks
My wife and I have been involved in local church ministry, in one form or another, since 2000. Before moving abroad, I was a youth and worship minister for about ten years. From 2012 to 2020, my family and I lived as cross-cultural missionaries in Phnom Penh Cambodia and I served the community as a pastor at an international church and as a pastoral counselor at a local counseling center, working with folks from over thirty nations.

I’ve led trainings, seminars, or coaching sessions in China, Thailand, the Czech Republic, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Laos, the US, England, and Myanmar.

For Marriages
With couples, I utilize an attachment-based, emotionally-focused approach. I also greatly appreciate the evidence-based tools and resources from Dr. John Gottman. Since 2014, I’ve had the privilege of meeting with several hundred couples who were trying to overcome unhealthy patterns in their relationship, boost communication, improve their sex life, prepare for married life, and more. I am trained to administer the Prepare/Enrich relationship assessment. See the “Roadmap” I often use with couples here.

For Medical Professionals and First Responders:
It is my privilege to offer specialized care for for medical professionals and first responders. If that’s you, keep reading.

If you’re looking for a counselor who understands what a Level 1 Trauma Center feels like during a full moon; if you’re looking for a therapist who’s assisted Kansas City police officers in subduing violent patients; if you want to visit with someone who knows the unique stressors and pressures of dealing with life and death situations during a normal Tuesday, keep reading!

With a background in ER/trauma nursing, law, ministry, and counseling, I now provide individual and couples counseling at Mount Hope Christian Counseling Center in Webb City.

Visit www.stoneandskycounseling.com for more information or to book an initial session.

Stone and Sky Counseling, LLC

with Jonathan Trotter, RN, MA, JD, NCC, PLPC

at Mount Hope Christian Counseling Center

2830 Mt. Hope Road, Webb City, MO 64870

(417) 624-9659 · jonathan@stoneandskycounseling.com

Loving Someone with Anxiety (or ADHD or Autism)

May 1, 2025 / trotters41 / Leave a comment

These three books have been very helpful for a bunch of clients, and if you feel like one might fit your situation, check it out. They seem to do a pretty good job of validating the spouse’s experience, while also giving hope and compassion and ideas for moving forward. Find the books on Amazon here:

Anxiety

Autism/Asperger’s

ADHD

*affiliate links

NOTE: Asperger’s is no longer the correct technical term for that end of the autism spectrum, although some people with Autism Spectrum Disorder still prefer it. This particular book is several years old.

The Stoplight Tool

August 17, 2023December 15, 2025 / trotters41 / 1 Comment

The idea is pretty simple. First, think about the signs that show that you are doing well in that area. How do you know you’re in the green? What does your friend or partner see when you’re in this color? And then, what are the things that help you to STAY in that color? Keep doing those things.

What are signs that you’re in yellow? What starts to happen when you’re trending in a direction you don’t want to go? The idea is to notice these things earlier than maybe you have in the past. And then, what are some things you might want to think about doing (or stop doing) that would help nudge you back to green?

And then the last one. What are the signs that things are really running hot? That you’re really struggling or not doing well? What are some things that maybe you don’t normally do, but that you might really want to do (or stop doing) that would get you moving back toward the healthy green?

It’s not rocket science, but when we’re really struggling with something, we don’t need rocket science. We need simple. We need straightforward. We need pre-planned.

Filling this out gives you a cheat sheet when you need it. When you’re trending towards red, you’re probably also forgetting all the helpful things. But if you’ve written them down, if you’ve shared them with a friend, partner, or ally, then you can look back, remember, and then maybe implement.

Hope that’s helpful out there, y’all! Take care, and happy Thursday!

Jonathan T.

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I’ve been using these concepts for a few years now, but I finally got around to creating a handout/worksheet for The Stoplight Tool. I’ve used this with folks dealing with OCD, depression, anxiety, and even adult ADHD. If you’d like to use this in your practice or ministry, would you consider purchasing the PDF for $2.99 here? Drop your email address in the comments when paying and I’ll send you the file. Thanks!