New to Grow
My name is Samuel and I have deep respect and admiration for any person willing to seek improvement in a therapeutic environment. I was born in Ethiopia, raised in Maryland. I have worked as a counselor/therapist since 2004 and have had great success working with people to improve their quality of life. My approach to therapy is to treat each person as a unique individual with potential to improve emotional health. Oftentimes, emotional injuries such as abandonment, betrayal, injustice, rejection, humiliation and loss can cause long term damage, preventing us from experiencing peace of mind or joy. Similar to physical injuries, emotional injuries can heal if treated with the proper amount of care and nurture. Therapy is a tool to learn how to heal emotional injuries, and trauma, in order to have the strength to strive towards our ultimate potential. Depression, anxiety, anger and many other symptoms are often the byproduct of unresolved emotional injuries. Also, therapy is able to increase self-awareness in order to form better relationships with loved ones and stop a cycle of despair and self-destructive behavior. I wish you the best in your journey towards wellbeing.
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
In the first session, my clients can expect a combination of compassion and competency. Building a rapport is essential during the first session, and it's not something that can be faked. It has to come from a authentic desire to listen, be present and assess without bias. A safe space is extremely important in all therapy sessions, which is established during the first session.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
What stands out about my therapeutic approach is a seamless integration of high emotional intelligence with targeted clinical methods, applied with both excellent discernment and genuine passion. I leverage attuned empathy to navigate sensitive emotional landscapes, exercising excellent discernment regarding the timing and depth of interventions, ensuring sessions are safely paced for client growth. My practice consistently affirms client strengths while systematically providing practical tools to improve areas of limitation, fostering empowerment and self-efficacy. This work is fueled by a profound compassion for human suffering and a steadfast optimism for human resilience, making the process of witnessing healing incredibly fulfilling, which is why I can genuinely say I love my job and the results we achieve together.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
The Importance of Self-Reflection and Inward Looking My ideal client is ready and willing to look inward. Therapy is not a passive process where I provide all the answers. The most progress is made with clients who are curious about their own internal world—their thoughts, feelings, and the stories they tell themselves—and who are motivated to understand how they contribute to their own experiences. This ability to reflect is the engine of therapeutic change. The Openness to Embracing Healthier Perspectives While we will use the client's experiences as the guide, successful therapy requires an openness to challenge deeply held beliefs or "unworkable" thought patterns. This doesn't mean I ask you to abandon your entire worldview, but rather to entertain the idea that alternative, healthier perspectives exist. My most successful clients are those who are willing to experiment with new ways of thinking and behaving, even if it feels uncomfortable at first. The Ability to Take Responsibility Without Self-Blame This is a crucial distinction in my practice. The clients I serve best are ready to move beyond simply blaming external circumstances or other people for their struggles. We work toward cultivating a sense of response-ability—the ability to respond effectively to challenges. This taking of responsibility is done without spiraling into harsh self-blame, shame, or guilt. Instead, we approach this responsibility with self-compassion and curiosity. We focus on accountability and agency: "I can acknowledge how my actions contributed to this outcome, and I have the power to choose a different action next time."
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
In my practice, I find CBT particularly valuable because it is structured, goal-oriented, and provides clients with concrete skills they can use outside of our sessions. It operates on the core principle that our thoughts influence our feelings and behaviors, and by identifying and changing unhelpful thinking patterns (cognitive distortions), we can change our emotional responses and actions
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
My experience with ACT has shown me that the struggle against pain often creates more suffering than the pain itself. By shifting the focus from symptom reduction to value-driven living, ACT empowers clients to move forward with purpose, even in the presence of discomfort.
Attachment-based
My experience has shown that many adult mental health struggles are rooted in early relational experiences. Clients often come in presenting with anxiety, depression, or chronic relationship issues that can be traced back to insecure attachment styles developed in childhood. The goal of an attachment-based approach in my practice is not just symptom relief, but the development of earned secure attachment, which provides a stable foundation for healthy emotional functioning. Oftentimes, emotional injuries such as abandonment, betrayal, injustice, rejection, humiliation and loss can cause long term damage, preventing us from experiencing peace of mind or joy. Similar to physical injuries, emotional injuries can heal if treated with the proper amount of care and nurture. Therapy is a tool to learn how to heal emotional injuries, and trauma, in order to have the strength to strive towards our ultimate potential. Depression, anxiety, anger and many other symptoms are often the byproduct of unresolved emotional injuries.
Existential
My experience has taught me that behind many surface-level symptoms of anxiety or depression lie deeper, more universal human concerns about existence itself: meaning, freedom, isolation, and death. Existential therapy acknowledges these "givens" of the human condition and views psychological distress not necessarily as an illness to be cured, but as an understandable response to the challenges of being human in an often absurd world. In my practice, this approach helps clients explore these profound anxieties and take responsibility for creating their own meaning and direction in life.
Multicultural
I was born in Ethiopia and moved to Maryland at age 8. I view multicultural therapy not as a separate "method," but as an essential ethical commitment and a foundational lens through which all other therapeutic approaches (CBT, ACT, attachment theory, etc.) must be applied. My experience has consistently reinforced that a client's cultural background—including their race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, socioeconomic status, and ability status—profoundly shapes their worldview, their experience of distress, and their expectations of therapy itself. In my practice, integrating a multicultural perspective means constantly engaging in self-reflection, maintaining cultural humility, and tailoring interventions to fit the client's unique cultural context.