Haley Walker is a Licensed Professional Counselor and grew up in Mexico. She graduated from Mexico High School in 2013 and went on to pursue her Bachelor’s degree in psychology at Missouri State University.

It was family who originally brought her back to Mexico after graduation during her masters program and now, at 29, Walker has opened her own practice understanding that this is where she is meant to be.

“I feel that Mexico has welcomed me with open arms and been very supportive, and I couldn’t imagine practicing anywhere else,” Walker said.

Walker went to Stephens College to complete her Master's in counseling. She graduated from Stephens College in December 2018.

Walker’s private practice, Reclaimed Counseling and Wellness, has opened where the Hagan and Maxwell LLC law offices used to be at 210 E. Love St.

The inspiration for her career path came from her mother. Growing up, Walker’s mother was a school counselor, and she got to see the difference her mom made in so many young lives.

Her mother has since retired, but she still does a lot to help kids in school.

“I was passionate about helping people in some way,” Walker remembers. “I wasn’t necessarily wanting to go the school counseling route, so I ended up finding myself in counseling.”

A Licensed Professional Counselor requires, at minimum, a Master’s degree in counseling and clinical hours.

“I went through two years of graduate school, and during that program I did an internship and a practicum,” Walker explains.

After graduation, she had to complete an exam followed by two years of supervised counseling under a licensed counselor.

“Therapist and counselor are used interchangeably and that’s kind of just whichever term you prefer; they’re used interchangeably,” Walker adds.

While she was in graduate school, Walker was living in Mexico, and she worked at the Arthur Center for five years.

“I started there as a caseworker at the Hope Center and then once I graduated I moved up to doing school based therapy,” Walker said, adding she remembers her time there fondly.

However, she knew school counseling was not where she ultimately wanted to end up, and after she had her daughter, she knew it was time to move on in her career.

“I was doing a lot; I was in a different building every day and carrying things around, and it was kind of chaotic,” Walker said. “It was great, but I needed to slow down a little bit.”

Walker then joined Mexico Counseling Services with Alicia Reichert and Lisa Snow in 2022 and she was there for almost a year.

“I grew and blossomed there,” Walker remembers.

When Reichert and Snow decided it was time for a remodel, Walker decided it was time to pursue a private practice.

“I made the leap at that point and went to the Jefferson Building, and I have been there since June 2023,” Walker said.

Her next big leap was purchasing her own building, which has plenty of offices for her to grow into. She named it “Reclaimed Counseling and Wellness.”

“Reclaimed is special to me because I feel that a lot of people come to counseling, and they are struggling,” Walker explains. “I feel through the process of counseling, people really take their name back, take back their life.”

Walker’s caseload includes men, women and children of all ages, but Walker defines her “niche” as pregnant and postpartum women.

“After going through pregnancy and postpartum myself, I realized that there was a huge gap in services and nobody who really specializes in that in this area, so I decided to try and make that me,” Walker said.

She spends a great deal of her time working with young adults in the 18- to 25-year-old age range.

“That transitional age I really love as well because that can be such an important time, so I really love talking people through that time of their life,” she said.

Counseling in such a rural community, particularly the one where she grew up, comes with its own set of unique challenges.

“There’s obviously confidentiality with being a therapist but in my first session I always talk about small-town problems,” Walker said.

One of the ways she mitigates the challenges of counseling in such a tight-knit community includes never approaching her patients in public, though they are always welcome to come say hello if they choose.

Despite these “downsides,” Walker’s positive relationships with her community has aided her as a business owner.

“I get a lot of referrals from people I worked alongside either from the Arthur Center, or in the schools; I had a heavy presence there,” Walker explains.

Walker hopes to “grow some people up” in her practice, starting with her intern, Olivia Martin, whom she hopes will stay after graduation and help her in continuing to serve Mexico for a long time.

“I am hoping to grow a team of therapists until the needs of Mexico are met,” Walker said.

She also hopes to, one day, expand the wellness part of her brand.

“I would hope to add a massage therapist or really anyone in the field of wellness,” Walker adds. “People can come here for overall wellness.”