Gardnerville therapists climb the proverbial mountain top

"This is such an amazing place," Crowley said. "Some people feel trapped in the Valley, but if you climb to the tops of the mountains, you'll see vast opportunities all around you."

Crowley and Wolery are licensed counselors. They and long-time friend Jodi Wass recently opened Three Peaks Therapy in downtown Gardnerville.

"When I work helping people, it forces me to change as well," said Crowley, who specializes in substance abuse issues, adolescents and their families, and men's issues.

Crowley grew up on the East Coast and became a wilderness trip leader. He was later a juvenile probation officer then a psychiatric case worker.

"It's not you, the sick person, and us, the professionals," he said. "It's we. We are all crazy, and we are all OK."

Crowley met Wolery in 1992 when she was working for Douglas County School District as a counselor.

"When I was 17, I started volunteering as a counselor in Sacramento," said Wolery, who now specializes in couples therapy and substance abuse problems. "People told me that I was really good at it and that I could calm people down."

After the couple had twins, Aidan and Maya, both 6, Wolery decided to give up school counseling and pursue a more flexible schedule with longer patient sessions, where she could establish deep, personal connections.

"I like to use the metaphor of an iceberg," said Wolery. "The tip of it, the part you see, are these surface problems. But I want to delve deeply beneath the water and find the root causes, what's truly going on."

Wolery has been friends with Wass, also a Gardnerville resident, for 20 years.

"We've talked for years about merging our services together," said Wass, who specializes in adolescent behavior, suicide prevention, grief counseling and sexual issues.

Wass said she focuses on giving her patients the tools and resources necessary to affect positive change in their lives.

"What brings me the most joy, is helping my clients find what makes them happy," she said.

Wass said having three kids, Jakota, 4, Jaden, 12, and Jessika, 14, has improved her professional abilities.

"It's provided me with a new perspective when working with parents, and how I'm able to relate to families," she said.

The three counselors consider each other and their clients family.

"We're a family circle, all intertwined," said Crowley. "This is a journey we're all on."

Three Peaks Therapy is located at 1528 Highway 395, Ste. 250 in the Mountain View Professional Center in Gardnerville. For more information, call Wass at (775) 450-2826, Wolery at (775) 720-8445 or Crowley at (775) 721-8463.