Our Therapists

Our Therapists

Rachel Pinto | Shayna Simeone Fendley | Susan Warren

Rachel Pinto

Rachel Pinto is the owner and clinical director of Cardinal Counseling Services. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Arkansas (Lic. No. P1608112) who holds a Master of Science degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from John Brown University. Rachel has worked with individuals, couples, and families in the central Arkansas area as a private practice clinician and clinical director for the last seven years. She will approach each session with an open mind, an open heart, and a deep desire to walk a mile in your shoes, to help you find kinder and more helpful ways to relate to yourself and the world around you.

Rachel’s primary experience is in working with individuals and couples to heal relationship wounds, recover from trauma, and find new ways to interact with life’s most stubborn issues. Her ideal clients probably have really tough problems, and they may be hurting very deeply, but they are also ready to think out of the box about the healing and change they seek.

  

 

Rachel utilizes CBT, DBT, EMDR, EFT and ego state approaches to therapy, as she and the client deem appropriate. Rachel has been trained by industry experts in these approaches, including Scott Pedersen (DBT), Dr. Sue Johnson (EFT), and Jill McCoy Archer and Gary Scarborough (EMDR/ego state). Rachel also continues to attend trainings with Dr. Scott Miller about FIT and integrating FIT into every aspect of the client experience at Cardinal.

Prior to becoming a professional counselor, Rachel worked in the fields of education, marketing, retail management, and church ministry. She has a varied experience in life and in vocation that helps her relate to what clients are going through. Rachel was named in the 2018 class of Women to Watch by Little Rock’s Soiree magazine. She lives in Sherwood, AR, with her wife and two children. When she’s not at work, she is probably volunteering in the community, reading cookbooks (yes, that’s a thing), playing music, or finding new ways to make her kids laugh.

  

Shayna Simeone Fendley

Shayna Simeone Fendley is an outpatient psychotherapist at Cardinal Counseling. She graduated from UALR in 2013 with a master’s degree in Social Work and is a Licensed Certified Social Worker (6947-C) in the state of Arkansas. Shayna’s diverse background in inpatient psychiatry, community mental health, and outpatient oncology spurred her passion for finding meaning in life-altering situations. 

Shayna enjoys working on anxiety, panic, grief, cancer or chronic illness, and all of the mental gremlins that follow us from childhood to adulthood. She utilizes Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) for a present-focused approach to emotional health and well-being. Shayna also believes in an evidence-based, integrative approach to therapy that explores the connection between physical and emotional health, especially for clients living with chronic conditions.

 

In a previous life, Shayna was a writer, a non-profit program manager, and an adult educator. Through all of this, she learned to hear people’s stories about the turning points in their lives. She turned to social work and psychotherapy to help those who wanted to change their stories. Shayna was named a 2015 Practitioner of the Year for the Mental Health Council of Arkansas and was a 2017 recipient of a $50,000 patient support grant from the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance. She was named one of AY Magazine’s 2019 Best Healthcare Professionals in central Arkansas. 

In her spare time, Shayna enjoys reading, writing, cooking, baking, and eating with her houseful of hungry boys in Little Rock.

  

Susan Warren

Susan Warren is an outpatient psychotherapist at Cardinal Counseling. She holds a Master of Social Work degree from UALR as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Hendrix College. Susan is a Licensed Master Social Worker in the state of Arkansas (8931-M). Her background in behavioral health and medical social work settings has sharpened her skills as a listener and advocate for those who need help navigating new and/or complex life circumstances.

 

Susan enjoys working with individuals experiencing “uncontrollable” emotions, worry or confusion. She also has experience helping couples communicate in more open and helpful ways, as well as helping families learn about one another, or navigate judicial and health care systems. Susan utilizes DBT and mindfulness techniques with all clients, as well as EFT with couples and families. She is certified in telehealth therapy.

Susan is a published researcher (Social Work in Health Care journal, 2017) who applies this same rigor clinically as she learns clients’ stories and helps them identify meaningful goals. She brings vivacity and spunk to all she does, and when she’s not meeting with clients, she is exploring Arkansas or watching movies and reading books from an ever growing suggestion list.