After thirty years of work as a professional counselor in North Carolina, Jayne Lessard is nowhere near ready to call it quits. In 2013, Jayne Lessard completed her 32nd year as a counselor, with over 24 of those years spent in private practice. Jayne Lessard began her work with High Point Family Service and spent a successful eight years working for the organization.

“At High Point Family Service, I learned to work one-on-one with patients as well as managing an office and business. Early in my tenure I became the youngest Executive Director of High Point Family Service and took great pride growing the organization,” says Jayne Lessard. Under her guidance, the agency began to grow from three staff members when she started, to the over 30 professionals employed by the agency today.

Jayne Lessard left High Point Family Service in 1989. “In private practice, I knew I could specialize in the field and area that interested me the most. I focused on marriage and family counseling because it is an area that is very important to me,” says Jayne Lessard. While it became her private practice’s area of specialty, Jayne Lessard continued to help patients in areas that included depression, grief, conflict management, and other areas of need.

“Supporting my local community also became a large part of my work in private practice. Outside of counseling, I have been involved with youth development, ministry work and even leading outdoor adventure trips,” says Jayne Lessard. With faith playing a large role in her personal life, Jayne Lessard joined the American Association of Christian Counselors so that she could present a holistic perspective in her work. “Many years ago I began counseling missionaries to help with the unique stresses of the overseas mission field. Most of us don’t realize how stressful this work is and it is my great privilege to serve them” says Jayne Lessard.

As a wife and mother, Jayne Lessard also appreciated an educational angle as a professional counselor. Jayne Lessard spent many years helping high school and college students. “Sometimes students go off to college feeling unprepared about what they want to study. I have sat down with many students to help them figure out their gifts and aptitudes so they could find a major or career that complimented their gifts,” says Jayne Lessard.