​​​JOHNA PHILLIPSON, LISW


Hello!


My name is Nicole and I am a Licensed Independent Social Worker and Registered Play Therapist. I graduated from Monticello High School in 2002. I received my BA in Psychology in 2006 from the University of Iowa. After graduation, I moved to Kansas City and worked for Marillac Children’s Psychiatric Hospital for three years. In 2009, I graduated from the University of Kansas with a Masters in Clinical Social Work and completed the play therapy certificate program through the Kansas City Play Therapy Institute. My internships include working with children in foster care and doing individual and family therapy in a group home. 

After I completed my master’s program I moved to the Des Moines area and began working as a therapist for Orchard Place Child Guidance Center. For 2 years I worked as a Functional Family Therapist, doing in home family therapy with juveniles involved with the court system. I then transferred to a school based position providing individual and family therapy to children in grades K-12 for 4 years.

In 2015, my husband I decided to move back to our home town. With this move, I took the opportunity to try something different and worked for Above and Beyond Hospice for two years. 


After moving back to Monticello, I noticed a shortage of accessible mental health services in the area and in the Spring of 2017, I opened Sunrise Therapy and Counseling Services. My goal is to provide more accessible services to children in the community. I use a combination of approaches including play therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, among others, based on the needs of each client and family. I provide individual and family therapy services to children birth-21.

 

I recognize that it can be difficult to find a therapist who is a good match for you/your child. The client/therapist relationship is vital in the therapeutic success! Please feel free to email or call me to learn more about the services I can provide you and your child. I welcome the opportunity to talk with you and answer any questions you may have.

Play  is the highest expression of 
human development in childhood, 
for it alone is the free expression,
of what is in a child's soul.

-Friedrich Froebel

Meet our Team

NICOLE MONK-STONEKING, LISW, RPT

Keep your face always toward the sunshine and the shadows will fall behind you.

 

-Walt Whitman

​My name is Johna and I am a Licensed Independent Social Worker. It has been a long and eventful road leading to this endeavor with Sunrise Therapy and Counseling Services.  Originally from Wisconsin, I attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison majoring in English. It was during my sophomore year that I attended a social work class with a friend and found that my true passion was helping others to overcome adversity and reach their self-determined goals.  At that time, I changed my major to social work and graduated in 1999 with a BA in Social Work.  Following graduation, I moved to Charleston, SC where I took part in Americorps NCCC, a volunteer organization working to provide assistance to those in underprivileged areas.  This experience only further fostered my professional aspirations to help others.  Following my time with Americorps, I returned to UW-Madison where I earned a Masters in Social Work.  I soon took a job as a Community Support Worker serving adults with developmental disabilities and mental health needs living independently in the community.  This nine-year experience provided me with irreplaceable experience and relationships and though it was very difficult to leave, following the birth of my first child, it was time to follow a new path.  

In 2011, my husband and I moved to his home town of Monticello, IA so that our children could enjoy the same small-town experience that we both had growing up.  Since that time, we have enjoyed calling Monticello our home.  After spending several years home with my children, I returned to work in 2015 by joining the hospice team at Above & Beyond Hospice.  It is often during the most difficult times in life, which for some may be the loss of a loved one, that we begin to question where we have been, who we are today and who we will be tomorrow, next week, next year and at the end of our life.   For some, you may find that you are exactly in the place you want to be. For many others however, there may be something holding you back from feeling you are the person, friend, spouse, parent or co-worker that you want to be.  The experience and education that hospice has provided me has led me to this desire to provide therapeutic care so that you may have the opportunity to take a moment away from the stressors of daily life to mindfully explore options for navigating your unique challenges so that you may reach your own self-determined goals.    

 I believe that while the experiences of yesterday directly affects who we are today, it is the intentional choices we make today, that decides who we are tomorrow.  It takes a great deal of inner strength to seek guidance from others, to recognize our need for help.  It is the first step in navigating your unique barriers and challenges so that you may reach your self-determined goals.  I celebrate your decision to begin this journey.
 


 

​​MEGHAN RUPP, LMSW


Specializing in

children and adolescents

​Hello! My name is Meghan and I am a Licensed Master Social Worker. I grew up in Schaumburg, a northwest suburb of Chicago. I graduated in 2006 from Schaumburg High School and then received my Bachelor’s in Social Work at Aurora University in 2010. I continued on with my education at Aurora University and received my Master’s in Social Work in 2011. I started my career as a hospice social worker and spent 6 years working for Journeycare before moving to Monticello, after meeting my husband. I worked as a social worker for Above & Beyond Hospice shortly after I moved and remained in that role for almost 6 years. 

At a young age, I was faced with many challenges but with the support of counselors and social workers, I was empowered to find my own strength and was taught the tools I needed to grow as an individual and overcome those challenges. I chose to become a social worker to help be a light for those struggling in the darkness and to give them a hope that was also given to me. As a therapist, I feel that I have a unique understanding of the value in a therapeutic relationship. I also grew up in a diverse population that gave me learning experiences to be understanding of differences without any judgment.

Working as a hospice social worker for over a decade has taught the power of choice in how individuals choose to respond to the hardships they are given. I believe that interpersonal strength goes beyond expectations and that reaching out for help is the first step in building inner strength. I hope to be a guide in helping individuals find positive assurance while exploring their choices to reach their own goals for personal growth. 



​​​Monticello Office

Specializing in

adults, couples, and families

​​​Monticello Office

Specializing in

Children and Adults