Get to know me

In our first session together, here's what you can expect

The first session varies in experience from client to client. For some, more time is needed to develop the therapist-client relationship, so the first session is about listening to the client and learning from the client. For other clients, the first session is more direct. The client enters the session with a situation or a challenge that they want to explore further. Developing the therapist-client relationship is still a key part of the first session, but the session is more focused. Regardless of how the first session goes, after a few sessions, or around a month, the therapist and the client will develop a treatment plan that lists treatment goals and objectives. This allows the client to know how to better answer the what, the why, and the how of their therapy experience, and it allows the therapist to track progress.

The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions

The need for therapy is not the same for from one person to the next: some need a listening ear, some need to develop tools and understanding, and others are facing trauma and abuses. For others, they're battling addictions, like sexual, substance or social media and gaming addictions. Although there are universal truths, there are things unique to each individual, marriage, couple, and family. The therapist values culture, community, and individualism. The therapist is sensitive to the unique challenges that each community faces. As a retired Army paratrooper, the therapist has clinical and personal experience with the challenges faced by military, veterans, first responders, and law enforcement. As a former educator, with a family of educators, the therapist has clinical and personal experience with the challenges faced by teachers, principals, and educators at all levels. The therapist is patient and long suffering, ready to meet each person, couple, family where they are. However, the therapist does not like to waste time or money. The therapy experience is about coming to a place where the client grows and matures. Therapy is meant to help clients develop the tools, the emotional competence, the mentalization, and the self- and other-awareness to face future challenges with wisdom, courage, and humble-confidence. The therapist is open and honest. He is genuine and admits that he can be blunt to a fault (sometimes); however, he is always genuine. Each client will learn to acknowledge and accept their weaknesses and their strengths. They will develop the tools they need to face future challenges without needing a therapist. The therapist will not--and is not meant to--live life for the client. The therapist will walk with the client, guiding and providing the appropriate therapist-client relationship and the psychoeducation for the client to develop the tools, the courage, and the wisdom to face their obstacles and their adversities. The therapist believes that dignity is a central part of therapy. Each time the client engages their obstacles and overcomes their adversities, they develop dignity, which is something that only they can earn; it cannot be given. As dignity develops, the need for the therapist wanes in that area of their life--and that is the goal. Living life to the fullest is life lived where dignity is present.

The clients I'm best positioned to serve

We have to recognize that we cannot change the past, but we can influence the future. Over the years, I have worked with clients from the following communities: Teachers and educators Active duty military and veterans, first responders, and law enforcement Adolescents and adults Human trafficked, trauma, emotional disorders Family, marriages, and couples Sexual and substance use addictions On this journey of our lives, we bear the weight of time, of experiences, and of circumstances. We are resilient, but even the most resilient of us come to the place where the next step is difficult. We all face burnout, loss, emptiness, or those moments where we just don't know what it is that we feel; where we just can't articulate what we are thinking. The goal of my approach is to walk alongside each person; it is to understand their past, their present, and their future. I work with each person to generate the opportunity to heal, as well as the opportunity to be strengthened. We have to recognize that we cannot change the past, but we can influence the future.