Our Staff
At Capstone College Care, our dedicated team of mental health professionals is committed to supporting college students through their unique challenges. With a blend of compassion, experience, and specialized training, we strive to create a safe and nurturing environment where students can explore their feelings, develop coping strategies, and work towards personal growth. Whether you’re seeking individual counseling or the support of group therapy, our team is here to guide you on your journey to better mental health and academic success.
Kelly Simonson, Ph.D.
On the spectrum of therapists from all heart to all head, I am right in the middle. I believe it is my job to offer a warm, nurturing environment where you will feel truly heard and listened to but also an environment where you feel appropriately challenged.
I will push you to live your life authentically and in ways that are the best fit for you.
I will help you discover how to live the life you really want to live, not the life you or other people think “you should”.
I will challenge you and act as a mirror to your life and your choices and encourage you to live your life in a way where what you want, need, believe in and value is actually how you are living–in essence, you are not just talking the talk, you are walking your walk.
I will act as an objective person in your life that will help you see other perspectives, offer a place to explore the pros and cons of situations and decisions, and ultimately learn what is important to you and offer skills and support while you strive to get it.
I work best with clients who want to be called on their stuff, who are willing to do the work, and who can join me in laughing at ourselves as we help you be the best version of yourself. I believe that vulnerability is the key to connection, healing, and us being our best selves–ironically while often showing the parts we have labeled our “worst selves”.
I value authenticity and showing up while being true to yourself. I value lifelong learning and challenge myself to always be growing.
Lastly, while I believe that therapy is serious work and can be heavy, I also know that I can genuinely share a lot of laughter with my clients in a healthy way. Oh, and I tend to swear a lot but will try to tame it if it bothers you.
Sydney Benator, RD and MSW
They/Them
I aim to create therapeutic spaces where all the parts of you feel welcome, heard, and understood.
I believe you are the expert in your own experience, and it is my role to act as a source of accountability to ensure your values are aligning with your actions.
I am passionate about helping my clients to deconstruct the beliefs they might hold rooted in diet culture and to reconstruct an authentic relationship with food, bodies, and themselves.
As a registered dietitian and a social worker, I approach eating disorder recovery in a holistic manner that considers the complex dynamics of emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual recovery.
Eating disorder recovery can be daunting, but that does not mean it always has to be serious. Together we can use humor, art, play, movement, writing, and more to co-create spaces most suited to your own journey.
It is my hope that after working with me, you will understand how your personal experience has shaped who you are today, and you will feel confident with new tools to navigate life’s challenges and a clear path of recovery forward.
I believe that you already have everything within you to become liberated from your eating disorder, and it is my intention to help you see that too.
My theoretical orientation is integrative: I pull from many theories and interventions based on what is best for the client. I center Person Centered Therapy, which is rooted in an egalitarian relationship between the client and therapist. The main tenant of Person-Centered Therapy is creating a therapeutic space where you can enter and be yourself with no judgement. Person Centered
Therapy is also grounded in curiosity. Therapy is a time for us to remain curious about your past, present, and future together to discover who you are, your worth, and your values. I also incorporate a narrative approach in my counseling work. This means we focus on storytelling, a powerful tool for insight and healing. We will examine the story you have learned about yourself from social, cultural, and familial history, and re-author it together. You will be able to see your challenges as separate from yourself and to find your own voice in this spaciousness. In an eating disorder context, this means distancing yourself from your eating disorder to understand your own needs, wants, and desires. The narrative approach allows you to take your power back even when you feel powerless.
Sydney’s Education
- MASTER’S DEGREE IN SOCIAL WORK: UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
- BACHELOR OF SCIENCE, NUTRITION AND DIETETICS, COORDINATED PROGRAM: UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
