Kevin Bedford

Kevin began his career in mental healthcare as a Direct Care Worker and Social Work Designee in 1986 prior to graduating Southwest Baptist University with dual bachelor’s degrees in Sociology and Psychology. For fourteen years following graduation, he worked in and managed Residential Care facilities and worked as a Social Service Worker with the Division of Aging in Missouri for 8 years. In 2002, he began to pursue a master’s degree in Community Counseling from Pittsburg State University which he attained in 2004. During the first two years of working as a Counselor, due to a strong interest in education and teaching, he completed a Specialist in Education Degree (EdS) in Community Counseling which was completed in 2006.
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Since attaining his EdS, he has developed and managed a hospital based Geropsychiatric Unit and worked as a School-based therapist with Community Mental Health agencies in Northwest Arkansas. He has taught and co-taught a variety of graduate and undergraduate courses in Psychology and Counseling at Pittsburg State University, University of Arkansas and University of Phoenix. Additionally, while doing these he has also held positions as Clinical Manager, Intern Supervisor and Academic Faculty Chair in Psychology in which he oversaw the clinical work and teaching of other professional counselors, interns, and faculty members.

Kevin has a wide variety of clinical interests and specific experience in issues related to human development and lifespan. His experience includes working with autism spectrum disorders, dementia, and end of life processes. He maintains the philosophy that the counselor-client relationship is the key to any therapeutic change so much of his emphasis is placed upon tailoring interventions to what best works for the client. In taking an integrative approach towards counseling he has participated in a variety of modalities including, Individual, Family, and Group Therapies, and actively uses a myriad of therapeutic techniques and interventions consistent with play, art, talk, and cinema therapies.

To help support and accommodate the needs and busy lifestyles of his clients he generally offers after-hour appointments on four days of the week.

Kevin and his family moved to Northwest Arkansas approximately twelve years ago, when they both took jobs with Community Mental Health agencies. Arkansas is a natural fit for him as he is an avid lover of the outdoors after having been raised on a farm and having grown up in a lake area in Missouri. His outdoor interests include fishing, fly fishing, metal detecting, camping, and exploring nature. He also enjoys landscape design and gardening. A passion of his is antique trucks, and his dream vehicle would be a 1939 Ford pickup, or a 1959 Chevy Cameo pickup so you can include driving as an outdoor interest as well.

He started college, after having taken every high school art class available, pursuing a degree in Fine Arts. Although he did not pursue that degree through completion he continued to love art. His hobbies include refurbishing furniture and repurposing old and discarded items. He also very much enjoys wood carving, drawing, painting and other craft projects. His weekends are often filled with one or more projects which he frequently completes with his daughters.

Moreover, his family are big movie enthusiasts and have a large collection of movies that they enjoy. Superhero movies are their favorite and they have collections dedicated to their favorite Marvel and DC characters. His family are huge animal lovers and have three dogs, two cats and a Bearded Gecko. He also has a hobby pond in his backyard in which he gardens and grows koi and a variety of goldfish. When he is home, you can find him somewhere in the backyard meditating among his plants and fish.