Meet Arden James (He/Him)

He combines this experience with a relational approach to help clients find creative and lasting solutions to their problems, as well as increase their connection with themselves and others. As a graduate student in Mercer University's Clinical Mental Health Counseling program, he brings empathy and curiosity to those struggling with eating disorders, trauma, depression, and the complexities of living in a larger body. He has learned through his own experiences that the problem is the problem and the person is not the problem. The stories we tell ourselves can focus on mistakes, problems, brokenness, or failure, or they can be maps leading to a more authentic and empowered self. Arden partners with clients to reclaim their voices and rewrite their narratives through honest and non-judgmental dialogue, as well as an exploration of the mind-body connection.

Arden’s practice is also influenced by the powerful connection between mind and body. He embraces an anti-diet, weight-inclusive, and body-positive approach to foster positive self-esteem. He has experienced firsthand how to lose connection with the body is to become spiritually and emotionally homeless. Our thoughts, emotions, and experiences are not just mental, but also held in our physical bodies. Arden’s experience as a practitioner of yoga has taught him how movement, as well as mindfulness and breathing exercises, can lead to a more fulfilling engagement with our physical selves, offering an alternative to unhealthy coping mechanisms.

Arden strives to create a safe, inclusive, and non-judgemental space for all who have taken the courageous step of asking for help and working to heal or grow, drawing on his own experiences as a Latino male in a larger body. He is dedicated to collaborating with his clients as they walk their paths to healing, offering a tailored approach to exploring their stories and reshaping their futures with the belief we are all just walking each other home.