"I believe in meeting people exactly where they are with honesty, warmth, and a willingness to do the hard work alongside them."
About Your Therapist
Hello,
I'm Nicole.
LPC · NCC · EMDR Trained | Rowlett, TX
I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor specializing in equine-assisted psychotherapy and trauma recovery working with children, teens, and adolescents on my own ranch, with my own horses.
LPC #89377
NCC
EMDR Trained
EAP Specialist
"Recognizing the gap in alternative therapeutic care, I set out to bridge the distance between at-risk youth and the healing power of equine and nature therapy".
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B.A. Psychology — Dallas Christian College
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M.A. Professional Counseling — Liberty University
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Licensed Professional Counselor, Texas #89377
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National Certified Counselor (NCC)
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Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy Specialist
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EMDR Trained
Specializations
Adult & Child Sex Trafficking
Labor Trafficking
Child Abuse
Sexual Trauma
Domestic Violence
Teen Substance Abuse
PTSD
Depression & Anxiety
Therapeutic Approaches
Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy
TI-CBT
EMDR
Nature Therapy
Education
M.A. Professional Counseling — Liberty University
B.A. Psychology — Dallas Christian College
The Story Behind the Ranch
A calling built from the field, not the classroom.
My path to founding The Therapy Ranch did not start in a classroom it started in the field. Inside trafficking rehabilitation centers, domestic violence shelters, orphanages, and child sex trafficking advocacy programs, I came face to face with the reality that trauma does not wait for the right clinical setting.
The youth I worked with were some of the most resilient people I've ever met. They had already survived things most people can't imagine. But many of them had also completely shut the door on traditional counseling. They shut the door not because they didn't want to heal, but because sitting across from a stranger in an office felt threatening, sterile, or just plain impossible.
In my search for alternative therapy services, I uncovered a major gap in these services for my community. I then came to a pivotal revelation. I had the land, I had the horses, and I had a professional counseling license. I could help fill the gap. So I built The Therapy Ranch.
What I've witnessed since then is something the research is only beginning to catch up with: horses are extraordinarily attuned to human emotion. They respond without judgment, without agenda, and without pretense. For a young person who has experienced deep relational trauma, that kind of honest connection can be the very shed of light in a very long season of darkness.
I also do direct outreach work inside juvenile detention facilities and probation programs — bringing trafficking awareness education to youth who are most at risk and least likely to be reached by conventional services. This work is not a side project for me. It is the heart of why I do this.
I believe every person is unique and every healing journey is too. My job isn't to hand you a protocol. It's to find what actually works for you.
Professional Journey
From the field to the ranch.
Nicole's path to founding The Therapy Ranch was shaped by years of front-line advocacy, international experience, and a deep commitment to the most vulnerable populations.
Foundation
Dallas Christian College
Earned a B.A. in Psychology, where early coursework and fieldwork ignited a passion for advocacy and working with trauma-affected populations.
B.A. Psychology
Academic Training
Liberty University
Completed an M.A. in Professional Counseling with a focus on trauma, equipping Nicole with the clinical foundations she would apply in complex, high-need settings.
M.A. Professional Counseling
International Field Work
Global Advocacy & Frontline Work
Nicole spent time working across multiple countries in sex trafficking rehabilitation centers, domestic violence shelters, and orphanages. These experiences gave her a multicultural lens on trauma and a deep understanding of the systemic barriers survivors face worldwide.
International
Advocacy
Crisis Response Advocate — Child Trafficking
Worked directly with child sex trafficking survivors through a dedicated non-profit Traffick911, providing crisis response, trauma-informed support, and systems navigation for youth and families caught in the most dangerous circumstances.
Crisis Repsonse
Trafficking Awareness Program — Juvenile Detention & Probation
Developed and delivered a trafficking awareness curriculum specifically designed for youth in juvenile detention facilities and on probation meeting high-risk youth where they were, in the systems already holding them. This program built recognition, prevention knowledge, and disclosure skills in one of the most under-served populations.
Program Creator
Licensure
Licensed Professional Counselor, Texas
Obtained Texas LPC licensure (#89377) and National Certified Counselor (NCC) credential, formalizing years of field experience with professional clinical standing.
Founded
The Therapy Ranch PLLC
Drawing on her ranch, her horses, and everything she had witnessed in the field, Nicole opened The Therapy Ranch — bringing equine-assisted psychotherapy and trauma-informed care to children, teens, and families in Rowlett, Texas and the surrounding DFW community.
Rowlett, TX
LPC · NCC
"Every individual is unique and every healing journey is unique. What may work for someone else may not work for you. The Therapy Ranch is about discovering your path"
— Nicole Hernandez, LPC, NCC
Therapeutic Approach
How Nicole works
Nicole integrates multiple evidence-based modalities, always guided by what each client needs not a rigid protocol.
EAP
Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy
Using horses as therapeutic partners, EAP creates opportunities for emotional regulation, relational learning, and trauma processing in a setting that bypasses the defenses that office-based therapy often can't.
TI-CBT
Trauma-Informed Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
An evidence-based framework adapted for trauma survivors that addresses distorted thinking patterns, emotional responses, and behavioral cycles rooted in traumatic experience.
EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing
A powerful, research-backed trauma processing modality that helps the brain reprocess disturbing memories and reduce their emotional charge particularly effective for PTSD and single-incident trauma.
NT
Nature Therapy
Grounding therapeutic work in the natural environment the land, the animals, the open air activates the nervous system differently than indoor settings and can accelerate healing for many clients.
Areas of Focus
Specializations
Adult & Child Sex Trafficking
Crisis response, disclosure support, long-term recovery, and systemic navigation for trafficking survivors across the lifespan.
Labor Trafficking Trauma-informed
support for survivors of labor exploitation, often invisible within other trauma presentations.
Child Abuse & Sexual Trauma Specialist
care for children and adolescents who have experienced abuse, neglect, or sexual violence.
Complex & Developmental Trauma Deep understanding of how early relational trauma shapes nervous system development and attachment patterns.
Domestic Violence
Supporting survivors of intimate partner violence and children who have witnessed domestic abuse.
Teen Substance Abuse
Working with adolescents where substance use intersects with trauma, depression, and identity challenges.
Anxiety & Depression
Treating anxiety and depression as they present in children, teens, and trauma-affected individuals.
PTSD & Trauma-Related Disorders
Evidence-based treatment for post-traumatic stress across ages and trauma types.
Education & Credentials
Trained for this work. Formed by it.
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Undergraduate
B.A. Psychology
Dallas Christian College
Foundation in psychological theory, human development, and early-stage clinical skills.
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Graduate
M.A. Professional Counseling
Liberty University
Advanced clinical training with a focus on trauma, counseling theory, and professional practice.
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Licensure
Licensed Professional Counselor
State of Texas · License #89377
National Certified Counselor (NCC)
Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy Specialist