New to Grow
Hey I'm Mark! I live in Nashville, Tennessee and I've been in the mental health field for 16 years. I want to break down a few walls. I am gay, I have ADHD, and am a survivor of religious trauma. I am secular and spiritual. I work with a lot of clients that share these commonalities. My main and favorite approach to the healing process is Internal Family Systems. I've worked in a variety of settings from outpatient counseling centers to high acuity in emergency rooms and psychiatric hospitals. Many of my clients may describe me as goal directed and liken me to a coach. I utilize evidence based theories and am well versed in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Attachment Based models. These three theories together are power house combination when it comes to understanding the universal struggle of one's suffering. They overlap together to provide a foundation for understanding the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors (CBT) that make up the many parts of self (IFS) that are acting out of fear and getting you stuck in loops (Attachment Model). My goal is to help you wake up and remember that you are your own healing agent. My motto is: 🌀 Flow like the river 💗 Act from love not fear 🙏 Be a Bodhisattva.
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
In the first session we explore common ground, find connection, and assessment your main issues and concerns. I will invite you to share your story and name the three biggest challenges you are facing. I will do a psychosocial assessment to survey different departments of your life, determine your attachment style, and assess your knowledge and understanding of CBT, IFS, and Attachment Models. Then we will introduce you to the basic concepts of IFS.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
-I use evidence based instruments like the PHQ9 (Depression), GAD (Anxiety), and WHO (Wellbeing) assessments to track your symptoms on a chart that I will routinely show you. -I engage clients with the following evidence based theories in practice: IFS, CBT, and Attachment Based Model -I use IFS cards as visuals to help clients learn and practice learning the theory. I encourage all of my clients to obtain these cards as we work together. -Most clients see significant improvements in their PHQ9, GAD, and WHO assessments within a couple of sessions. -Average length of treatment ranges from 4-12 mos.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
Most of my clients are struggling with depression and anxiety stemming from one or more of the following: ADHD, relationship difficulties, life transitions, and/ or an existential point of inflection: "Who am I? What is all this for? Where am I going? Where do I go next? Is this all there is?"
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
You’ve worn the many masks for a long time—performing, pleasing, surviving. But now something deeper is stirring. You’re ready to live with truth, to meet yourself in the mirror and ask, “Who am I beneath it all?” You may be unraveling trauma, constant drama in relationships, confronting shame about your sexuality, seeking spiritual clarity, or longing for love that doesn’t require self-abandonment. You’re awakening—and with that comes grief, fear, and deep hope. You want to feel whole. You want to trust yourself. You want to finally come home. It's time to let yourself be just as you are. You are the medicine for you. I offer IFS therapy, Attachment relational trauma work, and CBT. I am here to be a co-guide with you and to help you remember that YOU are the medicine for you. Together, we’ll explore the parts of you that protect, hide, or ache to be seen. My style is warm, creative, and grounded in the sacred work of healing. You weren’t destined to suffer, you weren’t born to lose: you were born to live your dreams. You are not broken—you’re becoming. If you're ready to sit with the mirror and gently hold the mask , I’ll be here with compassion and clarity to reveal the truths. This is a place to slow down, grieve, laugh, remember, and reimagine your story. Every person, every moment, every story, it’s all sacred. I see you—and I’d be honored to walk beside you as you return to the truth of who you are.
Attachment-based
Have you found yourself constantly in constant loop of strife, anger, resentment with a significant other, friend, and/ or family member? Half of adults in the US have a nonsecure attachment style that leads to chronic activation and deactivation. Activated by fear, parts of you become activated in a fight, flight, freeze, or fawn protective state. Wounded parts armor up playing role of persecutor, victim, or rescuer. Starting with an attachment style assessment, we will provide education and acquaint you with the parts of self that are activated in relationships to better understand yourself to then be able to build security with others.