Who we are

Dr. Theresa Ford is the director of Creative Counseling and Coaching Services, LLC. She also developed and is the primary instructor for the Second Chance College Reentry Program. Dr. Ford is uniquely qualified to lead these endeavors because she is a dynamic mental health therapist, educator, researcher, life coach and award-winning workshop leader with a long history of excellent service provision.

Dr. Ford completed her undergraduate studies in psychology at Smith College and earned graduate degrees in counseling from Howard University and The College of William and Mary. She is also a licensed professional counselor. 

With more than thirty-five years of experience as a clinician and administrator, Dr. Ford has successfully conducted individual, group, family and couples therapy with a wide range of persons with respect to age, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation and income. Her expertise includes addictions, mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, co-occurring disorders, relationship issues, recovering from trauma and handling life transitions. She is particularly adept in working with women, persons of color and young adults.

Additionally, Dr. Ford has taught a variety of counseling courses as a full-time faculty member at Hampton University in her role as Coordinator of the Graduate Counseling Program. She has been employed as an adjunct professor at Virginia Polytechnic and State University (Virginia Tech), The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, and taught graduate counseling classes as a doctoral student at The College of Williams and Mary.

Moreover, Dr. Ford was engaged in cutting-edge research at Howard University examining the effects of community violence on African American teens and investigating substance use among African American and Caucasian college women while at Hampton University. Promoting safer schools and healthier communities was the focus of a National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA)-funded study for which she conducted qualitative interviews and led site visit teams while employed with Manila Consulting Group. These studies resulted in Dr. Ford and her colleagues publishing articles in refereed journals.

In addition to providing direct services, Dr. Ford shares her skills with other professionals in social service agencies through staff training, technical assistance and consultation on a variety of topics.  

With humor, patience, sensitivity and a common-sense approach, Dr.  Ford combines her clinical expertise and hard-won wisdom to assist clients in developing practical solutions to their most challenging life problems.

Our Commitment

We pledge to offer outstanding services at competitive rates and adhere to high ethical standards. In doing so we believe our organization will succeed while contributing to the health and well-being of our community and society.