Sam Kelly

Sam Kelly (he/him/his) is a counseling intern with a background in family therapy working with children and families with complex trauma and abuse. Sam has worked with individuals suffering from ADHD, anxiety, depression, PTSD, mood disorders, relationship and parenting concerns, and self-esteem concerns. Sam uses an ecosystemic approach where he sees how the family interacts as a whole and the influence each member has on the other as opposed to solely one member of the family. Sam also incorporates elements of Structural Family Therapy where he identifies current patterns of interactions and relationships between specific family members and how to help work on relationship building and setting healthy boundaries that family members agree on.

Much of the struggle individuals face when seeking mental health treatment is being heard and advocating for themselves. Sam uses a Person-Centered and Solutions Focused approach to empower the client to advocate for themselves and bring about the change they want to see in their life. Sam’s strength-based and trauma informed approach helps him meet the client where they are at in their development, validate the struggle they have faced, and tailor treatment to their full capabilities Sam also has experience utilizing interventions from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) to help clients incorporate emotional regulation skills and recognizing cognitive distortions as treatment progresses.

Counseling Intern

Working with a Counseling and Wellness Center of Pittsburgh intern means you’ll get direct support from a counselor in training backed by an entire team of experts! The intern will get the experience they need to help even more people, and you will get support from a group of amazing therapists. All of our interns offer Sliding Scale Therapy.

Education and Experience

Sam earned his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. Sam is currently enrolled at Chatham University obtaining his Masters of Science in Counseling Psychology. He began his career working in a residential treatment facility working with children with extensive trauma and abuse. Sam worked with teenagers on helping them learn new life skills and planning activities for them on the unit.

Sam then transitioned to working with in-home community mental health services. Sam began as a behavioral health technician helping young children with autism and behavioral diagnoses work on behavior and play therapy in the home, school, and community. Sam then worked as a Family Based Therapist supporting families and children at risk of out of home placement. In this role, Sam delivered interventions relating to effective communication and emotion regulation skills for the whole family. Sam’s experience working in home with young children, adolescents, parents, couples, and whole families helped him develop a more personal firsthand understanding of the struggles clients seeking treatment face and what we as counselors can do to support them.

Hobbies and Interests

When Sam is out of the office, he is in his kitchen experimenting with new recipes he either finds online or that his family passed down from both sides of the family, specifically desserts from his grandmother. Sam and his friends can be found at Heinz Field (not Acrisure) watching the Steelers and Pitt put him through the emotional roller-coaster every weekend. Sam is also trying to work on his golf game by going to the driving range any chance he can get to fix his slice as well as learning to speak Italian to honor his grandparents and their heritage.

Get Started

Sam will be accepting clients at our Pittsburgh location. You can call 412-856-WELL, get started here, or contact us here to make an appointment.