Get Empowered with
Simple Gifts Counseling
"I have more than 20 years of experience helping teens and adults work through trauma, anxiety, and life challenges."
Cari Renger, MS, LPC
Call us today at 417-396-2225
I'm glad you’re here. Reaching out for counseling can feel like a big step, and I believe it’s important to know the person you’re trusting to walk alongside you in that process.
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor with a Master’s degree in Community Counseling and more than 20 years of experience helping individuals navigate life’s challenges. My work focuses on supporting adults and teens who are struggling with trauma, anxiety, overwhelming memories, and difficult life experiences. I am trained in Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), an evidence-based approach that helps the brain process distressing memories so they lose their emotional intensity. Many clients find that ART helps them experience meaningful relief and move forward more quickly than traditional talk therapy alone.
My approach to counseling is warm, collaborative, and client-centered. I believe that healing happens when people feel safe, heard, and respected. Rather than focusing only on symptoms, I work with clients to understand their experiences, strengthen their resilience, and develop tools that support lasting change.
In addition to traditional counseling, I also offer experiential work that can help clients connect with themselves in new ways. For some individuals, this may include equine-assisted therapy. Working with horses can help build awareness, confidence, and emotional regulation, and for many clients it provides a powerful complement to the counseling process.
Simple Gifts Counseling is located on a peaceful rural property that offers a quiet space for reflection and healing. Being in a calm, natural setting can often help people slow down, feel grounded, and focus more fully on their personal growth.
Every person’s story is unique, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to therapy. My goal is to meet you where you are, support you with compassion and respect, and help you move toward the life you want to live.
Counselor
Cari Renger, MS, LPC
I am the owner and founder of Simple Gifts Counseling, LLC. I graduated from Pittsburg State University in 2003, with a Masters of Science in community counseling. I obtained certification in Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (Eagala) as both mental health professional and equine specialist in 2020. I am certfied in Accelerated Resolution Therapy to address all kinds of issues very efficiently. The essence of my work is to facilitate self-growth to help you identify the core challenges and setbacks in your life, so that you can overcome them with confidence. I specialize in creating personalized plans and providing tools to guide you forward and achieve your desired goals.
The Herd
Our herd consists of five horses. They range in size from mini to draft. They all have unique personalities and interact with every client differently.
Equine Assisted Counseling offers a unique opportunity for self-discovery and growth through interactions with horses. As prey animals, horses live fully in the present and are keenly aware of their surroundings. Additionally, as herd animals, they have complex understandings of relationships and quickly and easily read the emotions of others, including humans. The second you interact with a horse they know what you are feeling and will reflect it right back to you in the most honest of ways.
Cari with her horse Nikki 1995
My horse story started at age 5 when I got the horse love of my life "Nikki" - a sassy half Welsh half Arabian pony. Nikki and I grew up together and she was truly my best friend. Nikki was there during hard times and good times in my life as a child and I will never forget the solace and healing she brought to me. Since I was young, I knew my purpose was using animals to heal but over the years I drifted away from having horses until my children started taking riding lessons. I found myself feeling renewed after leaving the barn and yearning to just be around the horses. I knew it was time to combine my passions and start Simple Gifts Counseling, LLC.