(he/him)
I'm a licensed Psychologist in CT and FL dedicated to helping you find a way to manage your symptoms and effectively negotiate the complexities of how you relate within yourself and to the world around you. I received my PH.D. in Clinical Psychology from PGSP (Palo Alto University). My APA internship was at the State of CT DMHAS River Valley Services, with rotations at CT Valley Hospital. I completed my post-doc at the UCONN Dept. of Psychology, Research Division. My career was spent working in skilled nursing and military settings.
During our first session, you'll have an opportunity to talk about your life story, symptom experiences, and explore some areas to focus on for treatment. It's okay if there are some things you don't want to discuss right away. You can be forthright and tell me there is something that is important to explore, but you want to be sure you are ready to talk about it.
I rely on an integration of evidence-based components of classic therapeutic modalities. I focus on factors related to resiliency to help reduce the impact of the difficult things life throws at us. I'm sensitive, considerate, and will integrate your ethnicity, spirituality, and personal choice into therapy. I work with individuals and couples across a broad range of ages and experiential backgrounds.
I'm a big fan of empowerment. I think that having accountability for choices we make is part of that, and helps build a pathway for where we want to be in life. I hope that the experiences from therapy will help you continue to Grow and produce rewarding moments in your life.
Insomnia and chronic pain are additional specialties not listed below
8 ratings with written reviews
March 17, 2026
I can't even express how much value, insight, and HOPE I received from Dr. Mertens with one, single, visit. Perhaps it's me, perhaps it's my unique situation, though I would venture an educated guess that it isn't; Dr. Mertens has already started equipping me with the knowledge to understand where some of my feelings, actions, and reactions are coming from, and the tools to use in order to engage with others -- and myself -- correctly, healtily, and authentically.
March 4, 2026
I just had my first session with Dr. Martins, and I am very pleased with the experience so far. From the moment I arrived (virtual), he was incredibly welcoming and created a safe, non-judgmental environment that made it easy for me to be honest. Dr. Martins asked insightful initial questions that showed he was truly listening. I’m looking forward to continuing my sessions here.
December 4, 2025
I would select all of the positive choices if allowed. Direct and challenging don’t tell the whole story about someone who is very kind and a great listener. He has found the perfect mix of letting me provide context and get stuff out, asking clarifying and gently probing questions, explaining the science, and offering gentle but clear advice on how to make things better for me. I can imagine he strikes the perfect balance with his patients who are likely quite different. A+