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Empower Professional Counseling Services
Wooden boardwalk through sea oats toward the Gulf at dawn

Founder and Owner, Therapist

Joni Winstead

Founder of Empower PCS. Therapy for adults and adolescents.

Portrait of Joni Winstead, LMHC, LMFT, LPC, QS, NCC, MCAP, C-DBT, CTP

LMHC, LMFT, LPC, QS, NCC, MCAP, C-DBT, CTP

About Joni

Joni has spent nearly 20 years in the mental health field, much of it in community mental health and state-funded programs. That work taught her how much people carry before they ever ask for help, and how often care falls apart when a therapist, a prescriber and an addiction counselor never talk to each other.

She started Empower Professional Counseling Services to fix that. Here, therapy, psychiatric care and addiction treatment sit under one roof, and the people providing them stay in touch. Joni still sees clients herself, and she is closely involved in how every client's care is planned.

She is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), an EMDRIA-Certified Therapist, a Qualified Supervisor (QS), a National Certified Counselor (NCC), a Master Certified Addiction Professional (MCAP), C-DBT certified and a Certified Telehealth Practitioner (CTP).

Areas of Focus

What Joni works on

  • 01Trauma
  • 02Anxiety
  • 03Depression
  • 04Addiction
  • 05Relationship dynamics
  • 06Adolescents

Approach

How Joni works

Joni draws on EMDR for trauma, DBT skills for strong emotions, mindfulness, and solution-focused strategies that keep sessions pointed at what you want to change. With some clients she uses art-informed exercises or role-play, which can help when words feel stuck or when you want to rehearse a hard conversation before having it.

What It Looks Like

Working with Joni

  1. 1Your first session is a 60-minute intake where Joni learns your history and what brought you in. After that, sessions are 53 minutes by secure video.
  2. 2Together you set a few goals in plain language. Joni checks in on them regularly so you can both see whether things are moving.

Who They See

A good fit for

Adults and adolescents across Florida, including individuals, couples and families.

Connected Care

Part of one team

Joni works in the same practice as our therapists, psychiatric nurse practitioner and addiction counselors. With your written consent, your providers share what they see and follow one plan, so you do not have to repeat your story or carry messages between offices.

Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Does Joni still see clients?

    Yes. She sees adults, adolescents, couples and families by telehealth, alongside running the practice.

  • What does Breaking Through Barriers mean to her?

    It is the practice slogan. It reflects her focus on removing the obstacles that keep people from getting coordinated care.

  • Does Joni offer EMDR?

    Yes. She is an EMDRIA-Certified Therapist and uses EMDR for trauma and painful memories.

Requesting This Clinician

How to ask for Joni

Call (850) 328-4464 or email empowerpcs@outlook.com and say you would like to work with Joni Winstead. We will check availability, answer questions about insurance and set up a free 15-minute phone consult. Please keep emails brief and leave out health details.

Related Pages

Testimonials

What Clients Say

I’ve become so much more self aware through the tools Joni has given to me with therapy. Now I have coping skills that help me through the toughest times!
M.W.
Therapy is the best decision that I’ve made for myself. I have learned to manage my anxiety and handle day to day situations better than I thought I’d ever be able to when I started a year ago. I finally feel like my life isn’t controlled by my anxiety.
K.P.
Finding Joni was like a ray of sunshine I did not know could happen with therapy. She has been everything I need in working through things from my past and present. She supports me with the best tools for myself and in journaling and being present with my needs to take care of myself mentally to work through what I need. Working with Joni is something I will forever be grateful to have.
M.B.
I am not sure what would have happened to our marriage if we had not started counseling with Joni. We were headed down a path that if I’m honest, was heading for divorce or both my husband deciding to stay in an unhappy marriage for convenience sake. Since we began our sessions, we’re communicating so much better, we’re remembering why we love each other – and maybe more importantly, why we like each other. Not only has Joni helped our marriage, I cannot say enough about how it has helped me personally. It has opened my eyes to the issues I have that are my own that I have been blaming my husband for – I’ve been learning how to be so much more accountable for myself. We can now talk calmly about things that bother us and we communicate so much more effectively. We’re not done with the work we need to do and we surely do not have a perfect marriage, but I am 100% positive that now we will stay happily married as we continue our work with Joni. I am so very, very grateful we found her.
K.M.S.

Shared with each client's permission.

Ask About Joni

Call or email the office. We will set up a free 15-minute phone consultation to see if we are a good fit.

Call (850) 328-4464empowerpcs@outlook.comBook a Consultation

Existing clients: Client Portal

Please do not send health, treatment or medication details by email. If you are in crisis, call or text 988, or call 911.