As a Licensed Professional Counselor in the states of Texas and Connecticut, as well as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the state of Florida, I have more than ten years' experience in helping clients with effective, fairly rapid relief from the symptoms they have been experiencing--with many telling me that they feel significantly better after only a few sessions. Before going into private practice, I worked in a variety of clinical settings, including community/public mental health, managed care, and a psychiatric hospital. Although I work with a wide range of client concerns, I work especially often with clients identifying as LGBTQ and with couples. I have over ten years' experience in treating depression, anxiety, panic attacks, substance use and addiction, and in helping clients to improve their coping skills to better manage stress when it occurs in their lives. Past clients have often described me as compassionate but also as "blunt" and "no bullsh*t" (their words--not mine), helping them to achieve results often much more quickly than other therapists they have previously had.

What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?

During our initial session, we'll briefly discuss the intake documents you initially signed, and then I'll have you identify a specific problem, which you would like to focus upon for each session. Beginning in our first session, I'll help you to begin identifying and challenging distorted, biased thinking, which is contributing to the symptoms you're experiencing. Most clients tell me that they feel dramatically less depressed or anxious, even after only our first session together. Because our time together is limited to the time we have in session, we will also talk about ways, in which you might apply what we discuss in the first session to a situation in your life, putting our work into practice--right from the start. I think of this as akin to flexing a new muscle: over time and with enough practice, your ability to cope successfully and more confidently should become much more second-nature.

Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.

Clients repeatedly tell me that I am easy to talk to, have a great sense of humor, and have left them feeling much more empowered. Being a gay man myself and a lifelong stutterer, I know firsthand the challenges, that come with trying to form social relationships and communicate limits to others. Helping clients to feel much more empowered to form these relationships and to confidently communicate their expectations is what keeps me passionate about my work as a therapist. I love witnessing the transformation in clients, when they finally recognize that they have no need to walk on eggshells in their daily lives.

About Brian Sharp