We have an exciting new monthly feature, our Member Spotlight, where we take a moment to recognize one of our members who’s made an impact in our beloved community.
This month we’re focusing on Cathy Champ, MA, LPC-S, LSOTP. Cathy is an incredible Natural Lifemanship Member and a longtime leader in our community of healers and helpers.
Learn more about Cathy’s background as a Licensed Professional Counselor and her vision for helping those struggling to improve their relationships with themselves and others.
Where Cathy got her start
During her 30-year career, Cathy Champ has counseled at elementary and middle schools, with justice-involved populations and at-risk youth, and worked as the Clinical Director of the Denton County Children’s Advocacy Center.
Inspired by her experiences with these organizations and schools, she opened up two counseling practices to further her lifelong passion for helping those in need. It was through this new chapter in her career that she was introduced to Natural Lifemanship and our principles.
A love for animals becomes a new career path
Her journey with Natural Lifemanship began the same way it does for most of our community members, with a deep love of people and animals.
For over a decade Cathy volunteered at the Denton Animal Shelter, and in 2011 she was named Volunteer of the Year for her commitment to protecting animals and fostering everything from dogs to bunnies.
This commitment, along with her desire to heal others led her to develop a curiosity in equine-assisted therapy.
Embarking on a new chapter with NL
Like many NL members, Cathay went to her first NL training knowing very little about horses but with a determination to take in everything. She was discouraged at first, given how much there is to learn about equine-assisted therapy, but she could see the healing power of the principles and how important it was to carry on. Pretty soon, things started to click. She formed a deep and lasting connection with the practice. At this point, she has experienced just about every training Natural Lifemanship offers.
Because of her work with Natural Lifemanship, Cathy has built a tremendous skill set and a thriving practice.
“I have confidence as a therapist as I lend my regulated nervous system and am present with my clients. I have so many tools to help them from the bottom of their brain stem up to their neocortex,” she said. “I have incorporated rhythm and walking EMDR and even a little mounted work. I work with clients in partnership with the animals or with nature and always with God.”
Cathy’s dedication to helping animals and her desire to connect with nature, two common characteristics many NL members share, led her and her husband to purchase a farm and open up Rockhill Counseling in Texas.
Opening up any business can be overwhelming. But fortunately for Cathy, she used the NL principles as a guide to navigate building up the foundation of her new counseling practice.
“Relationships mean everything,” she said. “We started building relationships with people and animals who could partner with us and who we would be a blessing to as well. We wanted all the workers, counselors, and animal partners to feel at home and to thrive here as well as help us create an amazing place for our clients to experience healing and to deepen their relationships with themselves and with others.”
Cathy’s counseling practice now includes six counselors, five horses, goats, chickens peacocks, miniature donkeys, a llama, and an alpaca. A diverse team to say the least!
Learning now and forever
Cathy continues to learn the NL way through webinars, online training, and in-person training. She’s grateful for the principles that guide her interactions with her clients, her husband, and even the little turtles in her pond. And we are grateful for her dedication to the principles of NL and our community.
Thank you, Cathy, for being such an active member and a leader within NL!
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