Our Team

Lance Garland, MA, CH, LPC

Lance Garland is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Hypnotherapist with over ten years’ experience. He offers counseling that emphasizes a deep level of respect for each person’s journey through life, their hopes, and their challenges. His approach combines traditional counseling techniques with alternative and holistic therapies to create a powerful force for healing and personal growth.

He holds a MA in Mental Health Counseling, which includes coursework in marriage and family therapy, diagnostics of personality disorders, and acute and post traumatic stress counseling. His undergraduate studies at the University of Missouri included a BGS in Exercise Science, with areas of emphasis in biology, human physiology, and psychology.

Lance is a Clinical Hypnotherapist and Neuro-Linguistic Programmer with clinical experience treating a wide range of problems. The techniques used in his practice range from the teachings of Milton Erickson, with formal training in Solutions-Oriented Ericksonian Hypnotherapy through NICABM, to more traditional Authoritarian/Direct and Rapid-Induction Hypnotism with training from the National Guild of Hypnotists. He is certified in the traditional western counseling method of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. Much of his professional development has been through the National Institute of the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine (NICABM). His studies include the neuroscience of psychotherapy, Mind-Body treatment for anxiety, depression and psycho-trauma, and the implementation of energy psychology in counseling.  He has additional certifications and training in ETF (Emotional Freedom Technique) and EMDR, both of which are highly effective in treating anxiety, PTSD, and phobia.

His vocational background was originally in the medical field. In the late 1990’s he was employed as Cardiology Exercise Test Technologist at St. Luke’s Hospital Center of Cardiology in St. Louis, MO. He was then a Cardiac Rehabilitation-Exercise Specialist at Roper St Francis Hospital in Charleston, SC. During his tenure at the hospitals, he began to investigate the deeper origins of heart disease and many alternative healing systems of the mind and body.

Lance furthers his professional development by studying the latest innovations in Mind/Body Medicine and Psychology. He is a certified Yoga teacher, Reiki master, studies Chi Gung and Shamanism, and lectures at local universities on the role of hypnosis in the treatment of psychological trauma.

Many of the energy therapies used in his practice are based on philosophies of human energetic anatomy as defined by the Tantric tradition of Yoga and the Chinese energy system of the meridians. Lance is a Reiki Master of the Usui tradition, and has trained with Dr. David Feinstein in the application of EFT (Emotional Field Therapy) to counseling and psychotherapy. He also studies the teachings of the Yoga Sutra and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, and is a Registered Yoga Teacher with a background in the Integral Hatha Yoga tradition. He has undergone advanced training with the Foundation of Shamanic Studies in the ancient healing art of shamanism, with particular emphasis on indigenous spiritual and healing traditions of Europe and the Americas. Additionally, he is a huge fan of the teachings of Dr. Carl Jung and the science of Quantum Physics as it relates to psi phenomenon and healing. Lance recently trained with world-renowned therapist and researcher Dr. Brian Weiss in the field of past life regression.

He brings the benefits and insight of this research, training and experience to each client interaction. With compassion and clarity, he helps individuals reach their treatment goals and enjoy greater well-being. His ongoing dedication to the journey of transformation inspires his work, and this mission is reflected in successes helping others align with their own authentic, empowered path.

Dr. Laura Griffith Garland, MAT, RM/T, ShRM

Laura Griffith Garland is a certified Reiki Master/Teacher, Shamanic Reiki Master, and tarot practitioner and teacher with over 25 years experience with the tarot and 15 years experience with Reiki. She has studied a broad range of spiritual disciplines including, Tai Chi, Chi Gung, Uechi Rui, Core Shamanism, ancient Celtic mysticism, and the art of the katana. She completed a traditional year-and-a-day study of Wicca and trained for three years with a Lakota Medicine Man. She is also a veteran and teacher.

Laura holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, which she completed before her twenty-first birthday. In addition, she holds a Master’s of Arts in Teaching from Washington University, where she became a licensed teacher of mathematics, general science, and physics. Laura earned her Doctorate of Philosophy in Earth and Planetary Sciences from Washington University, studying the interactions of water and the crust of Mars with implications for the beginnings of life. Her research is now considered the underpinnings for all current research concerning hydrothermal systems and their implications for life on Mars, which were finally proven 20 years after her groundbreaking work.

Laura currently works both as a healer and as a tutor. She tutors physics, chemistry, and calculus, along with many other topics in mathematics and sciences. Her love of teaching and her commitment to helping has led her to her dual life. Many find it odd to have a hard-science researcher also working in the “New Age” field, but Laura does not find the dichotomy to be a problem. She understands much of the workings of the universe from the scientific perspective, but at the same time understands that science still does not know all there is to know about those workings. New research continually uncovers the energetic connections between and around all living things and even among inanimate objects. Having a number of unexplainable experiences when she was young, Laura found a better explanation in Celtic mysticism and shamanism than in science, but does not reject science just because “they haven’t gotten there yet.”

Laura is also a veteran, having served her country for six years as a United States Naval Officer. As a Naval Officer, among other duties, she taught advanced mathematics and nuclear physics. She was also in charge of training new staff, security officer for her wing, the director of her division, and was one of the fastest ever at her command to receive the commendation of Master Training Specialist. Additionally, she served as special liaison to the local chaplains for those of alternative spiritual pathways. Laura worked for four years as a lay chaplain at the Naval Consolidated Brig. Laura says that her time in the Navy provided her with a unique perspective that few in her field ever experience. She says that she got most of her “white knight” persona taken care of by serving her county, but the need to help and to serve now plays out as a teacher and in practicing and teaching Reiki and tarot and as a Shaman and Life Coach.

Tamara Stender Antia-Obong, LMT

Tamara is a James Island native who completed her massage training at Trident Technical College in
2008, after studying theatre and French at Florida State University. She believes that massage is an
integral part of a healthy lifestyle and she is passionate about sharing it with others. Tamara's training
includes Swedish, Deep Tissue, Active Isolated Stretching, Sports Massage, Hot Stone, and Nurturing the
Mother by Claire Marie Miller Pregnancy Massage. She is also clinically trained in cupping massage. She
believes that everyone has different needs; therefore, her massage varies from person to person
according to what the body and the person tell her.
Tamara believes in whole-body wellness and diligently strives for balance on all levels – physically,
emotionally, and spiritually. She believes that adding massage to a health regimen of proper nutrition
and exercise will help to achieve that balance. She is a triathlete and a wellness consultant with Juice
Plus. Since you can't outrun your fork, Tamara encourages her clients and family to focus on a proper
diet in order to achieve optimal health. She calls West Ashley her home, where she lives with her
husband and 2 children.