About Zenith Counseling
We are a multi-location, team-based mental health practice, based in Cary, NC and working with clients throughout North Carolina. Zenith is built on shared standards, collaborative care, and a commitment to thoughtful, ethical therapy.
Who We Help
Zenith Counseling works with individuals, adolescents, children, and families seeking mental health care that is grounded, respectful, and responsive.
Clients come to Zenith for many reasons, like to navigate stress, anxiety, trauma, transitions, relationships, or periods of uncertainty, and care is shaped to meet people where they are, without assumption or pressure.
Our Approach to Care
At Zenith, therapy is approached as a collaborative process, one that values clinical judgment, ongoing reflection, and respect for individual experience.
Care is:
- individualized rather than formulaic
- grounded in evidence-informed practice
- shaped through consultation and supervision
- responsive to context, not just symptoms
We Are More Than A Practice, We Are A Team
Zenith Counseling is built around a multidisciplinary team of clinicians who bring diverse training, perspectives, and areas of focus to their work.
Each clinician practices independently while remaining connected through shared standards, consultation, and support. This structure allows care to remain both personal and well-supported without isolating clinicians or clients.
Meet our Clinicians:
Emily Uhlig, LCSWA
Emily creates a steady, supportive space for clients navigating change, loss, and the challenges that accompany different stages of life. Her background in hospice care shaped a deep appreciation for resilience, healing, and the importance of compassionate support during life’s most difficult transitions.
April Sheppard, LMFT
April offers a calm, steady space for teens and adults who feel emotionally overwhelmed, worn down by difficult experiences, or unsure how to move forward. Her work focuses on helping clients rebuild confidence, strengthen coping skills, and take manageable steps toward healing. She believes therapy should be a place where clients feel genuinely supported as they learn to trust themselves and their capacity for growth.
Chelsy Afzal, LCMHCA
Chelsy creates a warm, collaborative space where teens, adults, and families feel understood, supported, and safe showing up exactly as they are. She helps clients navigate emotional overwhelm, internal pressure, and life’s challenges while building practical tools, stronger self-understanding, and meaningful change.
Liz Jacobs, Counselor-in-Training
Liz believes everyone deserves to feel seen, accepted, and empowered to create change in their lives. With empathy, creativity, and authenticity, she helps adolescents and young adults navigate anxiety, identity, and life transitions. Her approach is rooted in advocacy and genuine connection, creating space for clients to grow with confidence and self-compassion.
Sarah Miller, LCMHCA
Sarah creates a compassionate, collaborative space where clients feel understood and supported as they develop practical tools for lasting growth. She works with adults seeking clarity, resilience, and meaningful change. Sarah is especially skilled in supporting individuals living with OCD and related challenges.
Logan Moore, Counselor-In-Training
With a passion for authentic connection, Logan creates a space where you feel supported, understood, and empowered to be yourself. Drawing from her experience as an athlete and coach, she meets you where you are, whether you’re navigating pressure, anxiety, or high expectations, and helps you build confidence, balance, and resilience from within.
Leslie Argenta, LCMHCA
Leslie brings warmth and steadiness to those navigating life’s changes. She is especially passionate about supporting older adults and their caregivers, creating a space where both can feel understood and uplifted. With compassion and skill, she helps clients find resilience and joy at every stage of life.
Ben Pham, LCMHCA
With a heart for genuine connection, Ben creates a space where you feel truly heard, without judgment, only understanding. Whether you’re feeling lost, overwhelmed, or simply seeking clarity, Ben meets you where you are to help you on your journey, knowing the importance of your story.
Cher Gilroy, LCMHCA
Cher provides a warm, supportive space where you can express yourself without judgment. Specializing in working with veterans, their families, and individuals facing anxiety, she blends active listening with evidence-based techniques like CBT to help you navigate life’s challenges.
Kristen Wright, LMFT
Kristen brings extensive experience supporting individuals navigating complex and often overlapping challenges related to trauma, neurodiversity, eating concerns, and emotional well-being. She is passionate about helping clients better understand themselves, reduce shame, and move toward meaningful, lasting growth.
Clinical Culture at Zenith
Quality care depends on the environment in which clinicians work. Zenith prioritizes a culture of reflection, accountability, and professional growth.
This includes:
- regular clinical consultation
- supervision and peer support
- ongoing training and development
- attention to ethical practice and boundaries
Clients benefit from a practice that values collaboration behind the scenes, not just rapport in the room.
Leadership & practice support
Zenith Counseling was founded by Johanna Sozio, a licensed clinician who envisioned a practice grounded in shared standards, collaboration, and ethical care rather than individual prominence.
While clinical work remains central to the practice, Zenith is supported by a leadership and administrative team that ensures clinicians are well-supported and clients experience care that is organized, responsive, and thoughtfully managed.
This team includes clinical leadership, operations, and administrative support working together behind the scenes so that care remains consistent, sustainable, and aligned with Zenith’s values as the practice grows.
At Zenith Counseling, care is supported by more than what happens in session:
Director of Operations
Kayla Shortridge
Office Administrator
Melissa Cirac
Community Coordinator
Elisa Planellas
Connecting with Zenith
People arrive at Zenith through different paths; sometimes by seeking care directly, and sometimes through trusted professional referrals. The pages below offer guidance on how to explore next steps or collaborate with our team.
Individual Therapy
Private Care
Professionals & Referrals
Clinicians, physicians, schools, and organizations can learn more about how referrals are handled and how collaboration works at Zenith.
Let’s start with a conversation
Whether you’re exploring care for yourself or someone you care about, or reaching out as a professional to discuss a referral or collaboration, the next step begins with a conversation.
This is a space to ask questions, share context, and clarify next steps without pressure or expectation.
Thoughtful. Confidential. Clear.