(he/him)
New to Grow
My goal as a therapist is to help men feel more seen, understood, and more connected to community. Together we will work on challenging how we view our role as men and how this view has affected our overall well-being. I want to explore with you, how you process the daily challenges of being a husband, a father, son or just a man. I know it's not easy, but you always make it work no matter how difficult. I aim to give you a space where you can discuss these challenges without feeling as if your complaining or being a burden. I can help you manage your stress by discussing tools that allow us to be honest with ourselves and how we feel. Yes! I'm talking about emotions. No matter how long we ignore them they still exist, bottled up and all. I want to help you share those emotions and thoughts out loud, guilt free! If you find yourself feeling lonely, depressed, anxious, misunderstood, or just stressed out. Then your the person I want to connect with and help you get back into the driver's seat of your life.
Our first session will usually consist of an intake assessment, exploring biopsychosocial information that impact the presenting concerns or reasons for seeking therapy. We will also discuss potential counseling goals and desired changes that would like to be seen by end of treatment.
I have spent the last 4 to 5 years assisting men with exploring and processing how their strict beliefs around masculinity have been affecting their ability to be understood by themselves and their loved ones. My approach has been giving men a judgement free space to discuss their fears, doubts, and valid concerns about not being valued if they're no longer able to provide, protect, or meet other taught expectations of being a man. Much of my experience has been working with men to challenge these expectations while embracing the emotions they've been told make them weak and less manly. I believe that reconnecting with your emotions allows men to develop & recognize full self-realization. During these past 4 years I have developed a Masculinity Identity Development Model in which I use in my work with men. I use this model to assess & educate how their beliefs around masculinity have been impacting their relationships with themselves and others, including lack of access to their emotions.
I work with men who are experiencing difficulty with expressing and connecting to their individual emotions. Men who feel that they're failing to connect with their spouses, loved ones, and even close friends often leaving them feeling isolated and frustrated from consistent attempts or unacknowledged efforts. Men managing life transitions such as age, career shifts, relationship changes & challenges. I also work with high achieving men who cannot "turn it off" and have difficulty resting due to achievement anxiety.
Adlerian
Through Adlerian I work with clients on processing the impacts of current and previous mistaken beliefs derived from childhood and lifespan. We then together explore how these beliefs have contributed to presenting behaviors and potential directed goals of those behaviors. While also challenging the narrative of these often negative beliefs that affect how we view ourselves, others, and the world (society).
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I also use CBT to assist client's in understanding how their thoughts impact mood and behavior. Through CBT the relationship between thoughts, emotions, and behavior are explored and used to help client's regain self-empowerment and a changed perspective on challenging presenting concerns.
Cognitive Processing (CPT)
CPT is a highly structured treatment method used to treat trauma and PTSD. This method usually consist of 12 sessions using arranged worksheets to address the symptoms of PTSD by exploring 5 core trauma impacted themes: Safety, Trust, Power/Control, Esteem, and Intimacy. These areas are targeted to identify distorted beliefs called stuck points to help clients reframe traumatic experiences.