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High-Quality Counseling Services

Meet Our Seasoned Professional Therapists

Healing is possible when you have the right people to support you. Here at The Refuge 18-2, our professional therapists are trained in multiple evidence-based therapy models. We provide counseling based on sliding scale fee rates. We also offer training for counseling interns, professionals as well as churches, community organizations, and schools in Metairie, LA. Meet our hardworking team of professional therapists, and allow us to provide you with the individual and family therapy you need.

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Michelle Dugas

Michelle Dugas is a licensed professional counselor-supervisor (LA #4457). Michelle completed her Master of Arts Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. She completed her bachelor of science degree in engineering from Louisiana Tech University. She has also completed two years of doctoral work in marriage and family counseling at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

After graduation, Michelle began her full-time practice at Celebration Hope Center in Metairie, LA, where she had completed her internship. Trauma and addiction soon became her specializations after counseling individuals and families who had suffered through the trauma of Hurricane Katrina. A traumatic event such as Katrina often brings out the hurt, pain, and abuse in a survivor’s past that have been hidden for many years. Working with clients struggling with the effects of trauma and life’s difficulties has become her passion as she walks with them through therapy to a point of healing and growth.

Michelle also works with clients struggling with substance abuse, marriage difficulties, parent/child issues, anger management, depression, anxiety, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. In addition, she is proactive in therapy with pre-marital counseling, marriage enrichment, and abuse prevention education.

Michelle has been counseling since 2006 in different settings with both inpatient and outpatient clients. She has been a speaker and teacher at the college level and volunteered at the Pine Hills Child Advocacy Center to educate teens and parents about sexual abuse and domestic violence prevention. She has actively been involved in facilitating groups on topics such as marriage enrichment, pre-marital counseling, grief and loss, trauma, and addiction.

Michelle is currently supervising counselor interns and counseling individuals with traumatic pasts as well as those suffering from depression and anxiety.

If you would like to contact Michelle for counseling, supervision, or training sessions, please email her at mdugas8387@gmail.com.

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Michele Louviere, LMFT, LLC

Michele Louviere is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 25 years of counseling experience. She has a Masters of Divinity in Psychology and Counseling degree and one year of doctoral work from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Science in English Education from Louisiana State University. After completing her internship as a counselor at Celebration Church in Metairie, LA, Michele moved to Portland, Oregon, where she was first licensed as a LMFT and practiced for eight years.

When Hurricane Katrina occurred, Michele returned to New Orleans to work with Celebration Church to establish a ministry to help the community heal from the traumatic devastation from the storm.For 12 years, Michele served as the Clinical Director at Celebration Hope Center (CHC) in Metairie, LA. CHC developed into a vibrant faith-based, professional community center serving people through its prevention, addiction, and mental health programs. Beyond providing therapy for children, adolescents, and adults, CHC also became a training facility for master level and professional counselors.

Michele has extensive training in specialized evidence-based trauma recovery models for children, adolescents, and adults. She primarily provides counseling for adults who have been traumatized in various life stages. She uses Story-Informed Trauma Counseling and other trauma models, such as Eye-Movement De-sensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACTS), and Sand Tray Therapy to help adults heal from life trauma. She also works with couples to help heal their relational attachment wounds, creating safe and intimate connections using Emotionally Focused Therapy, which is the most effective evidence-based therapy model. Michele is a Certified EFT Therapist and Supervisor.

In the last eight years, Michele has provided training and consultation in her community, as well as in England, Israel, Alabama (tornadoes), Missouri (police violence), and New York (Hurricane Sandy). In 2016, Michele and her staff helped the greater Baton Rouge community recover, following the police violence and the 1000-year flood that destroyed thousands of homes and left behind a tsunami of emotional and spiritual damage. In March 2018, Michele joined the Refuge 18-2 team, that focuses specifically on adult trauma recovery.

For many years, Michele has served on the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC) Board for Grief, Crisis, and Disaster. She now serves as AACC’s Project SUSTAIN Director. Project SUSTAIN is a roadmap for helping heal communities impacted by man-made or natural disasters. Project SUSTAIN has been launched in Las Vegas (mass shooting), Texas (Harvey), ,California (fires) and Puerto Rico (Maria) to help with both short-term and long-term recovery.

She has been married to Jim Louviere, a pastor and hospice chaplain, for 28 years and has two amazing children: Marlea, who is 22 and preparing to be a children’s trauma therapist, and Joshua, 18, who is passionate about Jesus.

If you would like to contact Michele for counseling, training, supervision, or Project Sustain, then please email her at Michele@refuge182.com.

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Carissa Mitchell

Carissa Mitchell is currently working on her Master’s in Arts in Marriage and Family Counseling at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in New Orleans, and she is a student intern under the supervision of Michele Louviere at The Refuge 18-2. She loves attending to the needs of traumatized individuals and couples. She has a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Rehabilitation Services (2003).

She has served as the Addiction Coordinator at Celebration Hope Center and has been a Certified Addiction Counselor since 2011 through the ADRA. She has extensive experience working with individuals, groups, and families, specifically in addressing addiction and life issues. She has been trained in many substance abuse models (Motivational Enhancement Therapy, Brief Intervention, and CBT) as well as other models that provide an integrated approach to trauma and substance abuse issues (Story-Informed Trauma Therapy and Seeking Safety).

She has experience with anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, substance abuse, and relationship concerns. She is learning and gaining experience using Emotional-Focused Therapy, Acceptance Commitment Therapy, and recently was trained in EMDR.

If you would like to contact Carissa for counseling, email her at Carissa@refuge182.com.

Couple During Therapy Session

Talk to Our Professional Therapists

Counselors do not always have openings for new clients. If you are interested in scheduling an appointment with our team, please send us an email first to ask about the availability of our counselors or the fees for our services. Our counseling agency is open from Mondays through Fridays to accommodate you.