New couselors join WellSpring

Recently, WellSpring Counseling welcomed two new staff members to its family of clinicians.

Joseph Stringer was hired in June as a staff therapist and is licensed as a professional counselor. He has experience in both mental health therapy and substance use disorder treatment.

Stringer graduated from Colorado Christian University with his Master's in 2009 and had worked prior to that as a caseworker for the Arapahoe County Department of Human Services. He is also a certified addictions counselor and worked with substance use disorder people in residential centers in Greely, Colo. where he had obtained his Bachelor's from the University of Northern Colorado in 1980.

He moved to Wyoming in 2010 and began working for the Wyoming Medium Security Prison in Torrington. There, he worked several jobs in mental health and substance use treatment. He was also promoted to work in their new program designed to treat sexual offenders.

Stringer came to WellSpring from Riverton, where he has been working in the community mental health field since 2014. He and his wife, Kristen, moved to Thermopolis in July and plan to live here permanently. Stringer is an avid outdoorsman and they have two dogs. He is also an Army veteran and working with vets is a clinical interest.

Paula Shankle is a licensed addiction therapist and has many years experience in the treatment of substance use disorders. She is a graduate of Capella University with a Master's in Human Services with a specialization in Professional Counseling. She has 30 years of sobriety.

Shankle began her career as a patient support tech at Wyoming Recovery in Casper and the moved to Riverton to work as a school social worker at St. Stephen's Indian School. After 10 years with the school she began working for the Riverton drug court as a counselor.

In 2013 Shankle began working as a drug rehabilitation counselor at Volunteers of America in Riverton and came to WellSpring in October to work as a staff therapist both in the substance use treatment program and as a mental health counselor.

A cancer survivor, Shankle moved to Thermopolis with her husband soon after accepting the position.

They are living in their newly acquired home with their two dogs, where she enjoys reading, travelling and her furry "kids."

The WellSpring staff welcome the new staff and hope they have a long and productive future with the center.