(he/him)
New to Grow
Hi! I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and I’ve worked with individuals, couples and families for 26 years. My passion is supporting individuals and couples who feel stuck in patterns of stress, anxiety, relationship conflict, or life transitions and come to therapy to understand what’s driving their challenges—and want healthier coping and communication. I help clients move forward by creating a safe, nonjudgmental space, identifying root patterns, and building practical skills for everyday life. Together, we can work toward goals and sustainable change. I use a combination of Internal Family Systems/Relational Life Therapy. Both are very similar. IFS”s approach is “Let’s meet the parts inside and help them unhook from extreme roles.” RLT’s is “Let’s understand how relational patterns shape the self—and shift them toward healthier ways of relating and feeling.” Currently in RLT Certification for couples work I love building genuine rapport with clients and believe therapy can also be a place to share a good laugh(if appropriate). Therapy can be place of learning/healing and also a place to not take ourselves so seriously.
The first couple of sessions will be gathering history and developing realistic goals.
RLT (Relational-Life Therapy) can feel especially effective because it targets the real-life relationship patterns that maintain people’s distress—how they seek closeness, respond to conflict, set boundaries, and repair after rupture. By creating a supportive therapeutic relationship and then helping clients practice new ways of relating, it increases emotional safety and belonging, which are core drivers of change. It also helps shift clients from “coping alone” to connecting more effectively, so problems are addressed at the relational root rather than only through insight.
For Individuals-Identify & challenge anxious, unhelpful thinking, Improve relationship to self through self-talk & supportive coping, Increase self-confidence and self-efficacy through life’s challenge, Learn tools to self-soothe and release stress from body, Release self-defeating beliefs and behaviors that aren’t serving you. For couples- Identify patterns and dynamics that block closeness and intimacy, Learn to interrupt repetitive fights and resolve conflicts in an effective, human way, Restore and reignite sexual intimacy and desire, Improve communication through active listening, empathy, and understanding, Rebuild trust and work towards deeper connection, Navigate life’s transitions (marriage, kids, career) in a way that strengthens bond Men-Feeling stuck in couples counseling? Looking to improve your relationship, but feel like you are flight/fright or freeze mode when you sit down with your partner? Using relational life therapy, I can help identify your patterns that make you feel stuck. I can also provide a safe relational space to heal so that you can show up as the partner you want to be. My experience as an adolescent male therapist for 20 years has help shape my approach as we sometimes feel like we are using the same coping patterns and protection strategies that we learned when we were younger. These patterns and strategies do not work so well, when we want to be in our wise adult.
I identify as
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a therapy model that views the mind as made up of different “parts” (e.g., protectors and vulnerable inner feelings) rather than one unified self. In sessions, the therapist helps the client notice these parts, understand what they’re trying to protect, and reduce fear or internal conflict by building trust and compassion between parts. Over time, IFS aims to heal wounded “exiles” and allow healthier, more integrated functioning, guided by a person’s “Self” (a calm, compassionate leadership state).
Relational
Relational-life therapy is an approach that focuses on how people connect and build a sense of belonging through relationships, including how they relate to partners, family, friends, and themselves. In therapy, it helps clients explore patterns that affect connection—like communication habits, boundaries, or unresolved relational pain—and practice more effective ways of relating. The goal is usually to improve emotional security, empathy, and healthier relationship dynamics in everyday life.