Helping You Heal and Thrive

At Core Counseling Group, we believe meaningful change begins with understanding what lies beneath the surface. We help individuals, couples, and families navigate life's challenges, strengthen relationships, and develop healthier ways of connecting with themselves and others. Through compassionate, personalized counseling, we provide a supportive space for growth, understanding, and lasting change.

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Core Values

Our values shape how we care for our clients, support our team, and build meaningful relationships within our community. They guide not only the work we do, but the way we do it.

We welcome honesty, vulnerability, curiosity, and different perspectives. We create space for people to show up authentically, explore difficult experiences, and grow without fear of judgment.

Connection

Openness

We create a space where honesty, vulnerability, and growth are welcomed and respected, allowing everyone to show up authentically

We believe strong growth starts with a solid foundation. We cultivate stability, trust, and support so our clients can build healthier relationships, and our therapists can do meaningful work without sacrificing their own well-being.

Rootedness

We recognize the courage it takes to grow and change. We celebrate progress, offer support through challenges, and encourage both our clients and our team to keep learning, growing, and moving forward.

Encouragement

Meaningful change begins at the core.

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At Core Counseling Group, our compassionate team provides counseling for individuals, children, teens, couples, and families in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and the surrounding River Valley. Whether you’re navigating grief, anxiety, depression, relationship challenges, or major life changes, our therapists offer a supportive space to understand what’s beneath the surface, strengthen relationships, and develop healthier ways to navigate life’s challenges. We’re here to help you find the support that fits your needs.

Meet the Core Counseling Team

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  • Owner | Licensed Professional Counselor & Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

    Danielle Wheeler brings more than 16 years of experience helping individuals, couples, children, adolescents, and families navigate life's challenges. As the owner of Core Counseling Group, she is passionate about understanding the deeper concerns affecting individuals and their relationships—not just the symptoms on the surface.

    Danielle works with clients experiencing relationship conflict, anxiety, depression, grief, stress, attachment difficulties, blended family challenges, and behavioral or family concerns. She recognizes that when one person struggles, the effects can often be felt throughout the entire family.

    Her approach draws from Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), trauma-informed practices, and Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), for which she is certified. She works to help clients better understand themselves and one another, strengthen relationships, and develop healthier ways of responding to life's challenges.

    Originally from South Carolina, Danielle earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from North Greenville University and her master's degree in marriage and family therapy and community counseling from John Brown University.

    Danielle believes meaningful change begins with understanding what lies beneath the surface and creating the conditions for healthier, more connected relationships.

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  • Licensed Professional Counselor & Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

    Lisa Brock works with couples and adult individuals who are navigating relationship difficulties, emotional pain, and challenging seasons of life. She believes our relationships have a profound impact on our well-being and that feeling understood and supported can make a meaningful difference.

    Lisa helps clients explore patterns that may be contributing to relationship conflict, emotional distress, and difficulties connecting with others. Whether clients are working through communication challenges, changes in their relationships, or personal struggles, she provides a supportive space to gain understanding and work toward meaningful change.

    Her therapeutic approach incorporates Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), trauma-focused therapy, and Internal Family Systems (IFS). These approaches help clients explore underlying emotions and experiences, better understand their responses, and develop healthier ways of relating to themselves and others.

    With experience in residential, outpatient, intensive outpatient, agency, and private practice settings, Lisa brings a broad perspective to her work with clients.

    Lisa believes emotional pain deserves to be taken seriously and that stronger relationships begin with understanding the experiences and emotions beneath the surface.

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  • Licensed Professional Counselor | Arkansas

    Jennifer Cox works with children, young girls, and women who are navigating anxiety, low self-esteem, grief, and changes in their lives. She believes counseling should be a place where clients feel comfortable being themselves, expressing their feelings, and working through challenges without fear of judgment.

    Jennifer takes a supportive, collaborative approach to counseling. She works alongside clients to help them better understand their thoughts and emotions while developing practical tools they can use in everyday life. Her goal is to help clients build confidence, recognize their strengths, and develop healthier ways of responding to difficult situations.

    Jennifer has a special interest in working with children and creating an environment where they can express themselves, understand their emotions, and develop age-appropriate coping skills. She also draws on her experience as a school counselor to understand the social, emotional, and developmental challenges children may face.

    Before entering private practice, Jennifer worked in residential treatment, outpatient services, and community-based agencies. She also spent three years as a school counselor. She earned her bachelor's degree from Mid-America Christian University and her master's degree from the University of Oklahoma.

    Jennifer understands that reaching out for counseling can feel like a big step. She strives to make that first step feel welcoming and to help clients feel heard, supported, and understood.

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  • Licensed Professional Counselor | Arkansas

    Cindy Wood works with children and young adults as they navigate emotional challenges, difficult experiences, and changes in their lives. She brings a warm, approachable style to counseling and believes that understanding each person's experiences is an important part of helping them move forward.

    Before becoming a counselor, Cindy spent years working in education as a kindergarten teacher, middle school teacher, and school counselor. Her background gives her valuable insight into children's development, emotional needs, and the challenges that can affect children and families at home and at school.

    Cindy works with clients experiencing anxiety, emotional distress, and other challenges that can affect everyday life. She also provides EMDR therapy to help clients process distressing experiences and memories. Her approach is centered on helping clients better understand what they are experiencing and develop practical ways to cope.

    Cindy's combination of counseling experience and educational background helps her bring understanding and perspective to the concerns children, young adults, and families face.

    She enjoys helping clients recognize their strengths, build coping skills, and approach life's challenges with greater understanding and confidence.

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  • Founder and Director | The Heart of Reading Academy

    Brittany White is the founder and director of The Heart of Reading Academy, where she provides individualized dyslexia therapy to help students strengthen their reading skills and build confidence in their abilities.

    With a background in elementary education and specialized training in literacy instruction, Brittany understands the challenges children may experience when learning to read. She believes every student deserves instruction that recognizes their individual needs, celebrates their progress, and helps them see what they are capable of accomplishing.

    Brittany's work uses the Take Flight program, a structured, multisensory reading intervention based on Orton-Gillingham principles. This approach helps students develop skills in word recognition, reading fluency, reading comprehension, and spelling.

    She earned her master's degree in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in literacy from the University of Texas at Arlington. Her professional experience includes elementary education, tutoring, and dyslexia intervention.

    Brittany is passionate about creating a supportive learning environment where students can work through reading challenges, build confidence, and develop skills that support them in school and beyond.

    Through The Heart of Reading Academy at Core Counseling Group, Brittany is dedicated to helping students discover their strengths and experience greater confidence in their learning.