Cherryl Garner, PHD, LPC - Exploring Paths, LLC 6 Weymouth Circle, Bluffton, SC 29910

"Excellent therapist. Extremely knowledgeable, caring, and invested in the growth and mental health of her patients. I would absolutely recommend her to anyone seeking counseling"

"I saw Dr. Garner for a couple of months when I was 15; I was suffering from undiagnosed bipolar depression, crippling anxiety that was quite literally off the charts, and trauma. Now that I’m 21 and seeing an effective and kind therapist and now that I have stabilized, I understand how truly terrible my experience with her was. She consistently invalidated me and treated me like a brat who was just seeking attention. I was suffering with severe illness and desperately needed help. Because of her negligence, I spent the next five years suffering in silence; not only did she convince me I had no real issues, but she majorly deterred me from trying to get help again. I absolutely hated therapy with her, she genuinely made me feel worse during our appointments; I mean I was balling my eyes out on the way they’re begging not to go. No patient should feel negatively about and struggle with going to therapy because of the therapist. She would even do things like interrupt me when I was trying to describe my depression in order to argue about my word choice for describing things unrelated to my condition and psyche. I even remember her directly implying that the patients who saw her immediately after me were annoying and burdensome, which is outrageously inappropriate, especially to a mentally ill 15 year old. She was seeing my brother (3 years older than me) around the same time, and treated him nearly the opposite— the reason he stopped seeing her was because he felt she was becoming oddly obsessed with him and that she was more interested in researching his giftedness than helping him process his trauma. It seems to me her obsession with my brother may have contributed to her treatment towards me, which is senseless seeing as two siblings in therapy at once is a clear indication of familial trauma. Because she is a popular therapist in the area, I happen to know two of her other former patients. A little while after I stopped seeing her (a result of her treatment towards me) I learned one of my friends was seeing her. My friend felt the same way, like Dr. Garner did not take her seriously and that she was consistently invalidated. One of my mother’s friends also used to see Garner with her children after her divorce. It was the same report— that she was receiving terrible treatment that was wildly different from her sons’ treatment. It’s easy to conclude Dr. Garner is struggling with internalized misogyny, something not too uncommon in women themselves. The lack of professionally and negligence is unacceptable, and frankly, as someone who has now experienced real treatment, she should not be allowed to treat patients as a therapist. I wish I could give zero stars, but one will have to do. Dr. Garner, if you see this, do not attempt to reach out to me or my family to discuss this review. We will only elaborate on what I’ve said here."

"If I could give Mrs. Garner no stars I would! Her whole approach is awful. She has no manners, is rude and so abrasive. When picking a counselor, typically you would like someone who is nurturing and understanding of your problems. Don’t choose Mrs. Garner, she is none of those things. I even tried to have a follow up conversation with her where she raised her voice and did not apologize for her actions. Just want to make sure others know before they schedule an appointment!!"