Brent O’Bannon, MBS
LPC, LCDC
903.813.0723 or 903.819.0301
brent@brentspeaks.com

Education, Training & Professional Experience

I have worked in the mental health field since 1984 and have counseled in private practice/group practice since 1994. My original work began as a mental health technician at Juvenile Alternatives in Texas. It was during this time that I completed my bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a minor in Psychology/Communication at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. My experience with adolescents continued as I served as youth pastor in a large church. I then moved to Topeka, Kansas and served as a senior pastor and created counseling ministries within the local mission.

After moving back to Texas I began working as a high-risk youth specialist at Texoma Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. I attended some 300+ hours of specific training in substance abuse counseling and successfully passed my state examination to become a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor. I joined a small private practice doing substance abuse counseling, group counseling, leading community workshops and providing life skills training to adolescents in a residential setting. Wanting to gain more counseling skills, I participated in an intensive weeklong didactic and experiential training on relapse prevention with Terrance Gorski in Chicago. During this time is when I became inspired by my fellow colleagues to go back to school and begin my master’s degree in counseling psychology. During this time I co-facilitated a domestic violence group at the Women’s Crisis Center and provided short-term therapy for the University of Texas at Dallas Counseling Center as a counseling intern. During this internship I was under weekly individual supervision and provided taped counseling sessions to be reviewed by my supervisor. I also participated in weekly group supervision, staffing cases as well as sharing topical presentations. I graduated with my M.B.S. in counseling psychology from Southeastern Oklahoma State University in 1993.

Wanting to gain more experience with those with chronic mental illness, I became a caseworker with Collin County Mental Health Mental Retardation. I was the counselor that provided support, education, group counseling, and crisis support for a large caseload of some 100 plus people. I participated in a weekly treatment team staffing with a variety of professional’s lead by a psychiatrist. I eventually began working as a hospital liaison coordinating aftercare from the state hospital in Wichita Falls, TX. I made weekly rounds and coordinated discharge and services with social workers and psychiatrist in the state hospital. During this time is when I became involved with NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness) providing intensive education/support for families and those struggling with mental illness.

As I began working on my supervision and 2000 hours becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor I met weekly with dual supervisors, which were a psychiatrist and a licensed psychologist. I learned more about medications, medical conditions, neurochemistry, and diagnosing through the psychiatrist. The psychologist taught me how to build a private practice and administer psychological testing as well as trauma resolution therapy. He inspired me to complete forty hours of intensive didactic and experiential training in trauma resolution therapy. This training opened up doors doing critical incident debriefing for victims and corporations that had experienced crime, disaster, and trauma. I completed my 2000 hours and passed my examination to become a LPC in 1994.

My part time private practice called O’Bannon Counseling Services quickly grew within a year to two satellite offices in Sherman and McKinney, Texas. I began to get on insurance and managed care provider panels as well as completed a training to become a certified fellow managed care provider. This training further educated me on brief solution focused therapy and treatment planning. After two years of private practice I joined and co-created Brief Therapy Associates, LLC as a multi-specialty group practice without walls. The practice had several satellite offices in Texas and with numerous criminal justice contracts with state probation as well as federal probation. Other contracts include Child Protective Services, Workforce Texoma, Juvenile Alternatives, City House, etc. I am on many major managed care contracts and have co-created a non-profit corporation called ACE (Access to Community Enrichment) to provide counseling, education and supervision for counseling interns. ACE was active in obtaining grants that would help a three county area provide services for those that cannot afford counseling. I completed training at University of North Texas and became an approved LPC supervisor in 1999. I specialize in relationship issues, addictions, trauma resolution, spirituality, and counselor supervision. I provide administration as well as instruction for the Texas Drug Offender Education Program. I am a professional speaker and member of the National Speaker Association. My web site is www.brentspeaks.com. I also taught as an adjunct psychology professor for seven years and continue to present leadership, communication and personal development keynotes and workshops to more than 50 major corporations. I am a DTM (Distinguished Toastmaster) that has won numerous speaking contests. I am the author of the balance matters ezine, Who Am I Life Discovery ebook, and breakthrough book , Balance Matters: Turning Burnout Into Balance.