(he/him)
New to Grow
As a Licensed Professional Counselor (TX 81773) and a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor (Texas 8609) I have provided therapy for over 29 yrs. I can provide information regarding coping skills to manage symptoms of many mental health conditions. I have worked in Co-occurring Disorder settings using Cognitive Behavioral, Existential, Person Centered, Feminist, the Minnesota Model, and Eclectic Therapies. I offer virtual therapy via multiple platforms. I work with Substance Use Disorders, Mood Disorders, i.e., Depressive\Bipolar Disorders, Thought Disorders, anxiety\PTSD, and am EMDR trained. I will be glad to support you to improve your self-image, relationship concerns, anger, your overall quality of life, and\or reduce or discontinue substance use. I have hours available on Thursday, or Friday or Saturday mornings at this time. If you are experiencing distress due to relationship issues, employment concerns, or other mental health issues I can provide guidance and resources for you to overcome, or to cope with the circumstances troubling you. If you a Texas resident please feel free to contact me. We can talk online over a cup of coffee or tea to understand your concerns and set some goals for therapy.
In the first session we will conduct the basic expectations for services, simplify problems, establish goals to address these problems, and, the most important factor in counseling, establish a therapeutic relationship.
The techniques that I generally employ in providing a service vary and I can humbly shift those approaches if required. I do prefer a Rational Emotive Behavioral approach as this often provides quicker results. I tend to be sensitive to cultural and occupational situations that bring individuals to therapy. I have worked with veterans and First Responders who have traumatic experiences using CBT and EMDR with good results. For those that desire a spiritual lifestyle or approach I can accomodate and encourage increased awareness though Existential techniques. Ultamately you have to do the work, I just carry the flag in the direction that we see advantagous. There is often homework and practice in between sessions.
I work well with those individuals with co-occurring disoders, i.e. depression and substance use, personality disorders, ages 27-85. many of those with an unhealthy need to provide care for others, especially when those others are capable, or could be capable of more independence. Individuals with a lost sense of purpose and anxiety are also ideal. I have, on occasion, worked with couples in conflict, generally when there is also a substance use issue involved. I currently work full-time in a crisis stabilization unit, mostly with those who experience mood disoders , substance use, a lack of independence, homelessness, and suicidal ideation who lack benefit of a medical provider and in need of medication management. As a therapist I prefer to work in conjunction with psychiatric providers.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I have taken numerous trainings, and provided CBT, & REBT, conceived by Albert Ellis, grandfather of CBTfor depression, mania, anxiety, thought disorders, suicidal ideation, substance use, and other coditions for the 7 yrs of practice as a LPC, and 27 years as a substance use disoders counselor. This is used to ferrit out beliefs that are no longer helpful, or that incur unwanted consequences.
EMDR
I took a 40-hr training in EMDR and have utilyzed this approach off and on, depending on client need and preference for over 5 yrs. I have worked with veterans and first responders with trauma during this time period.
Existential
Used as a reinforcing technique to primary modality, CBT. I find this approach to be highly effective in therapy when a person lacks goals and is in need of direction.
Grief Therapy
Using Worden's Four Tasks of Mourning, the work of Granger Westburg, and concepts of Kubler-Ross, I provided treatment program lectures on grief weekly for over a yr. these techniques are useful for relationship separation, job loss, death, and other areas where loss is an experience.