Does this sound like you?
You’re intentional, focused, determined. You’re eager to discover and maximize your strengths. You know that continued growth and development calls you to face your challenges – your fears, vulnerabilities and weaknesses – directly. When you do, you take whatever steps are necessary to take effective, positive control of your life and make a positive impact on those around you.
You want to work with a therapist who will help you define your challenge, develop and refine a strategic plan that works for you, and help you stay on track.
If that sound like you, welcome! You’re in the right place. I help people make the most of their lives and relationships.
Does this sound like you?
You constantly feel nervous and on edge. You worry about … everything. You feel as if something terrible is about to happen. Anxiety.
You’ve lost interest in the things you used to enjoy. You feel depressed and have lost hope. Depression.
You used to believe that you could handle the challenges you encountered fairly easily. Today, you’re often stressed and on edge. You find it difficult to cope with all the things expected of you. Stress.
You (or someone who cares about you) are concerned that you are drinking more than you have in the past. When you start drinking, it’s hard to stop. Your drinking has had a negative impact on your relationships or work performance. Addiction.
You have a secret no one knows about. Nearly every day (or night) you spend hours looking at porn. You have looked for sexual partners (live or virtual) online. You feel like the hamster running on the wheel – constantly looking for sex, having sex, or recovering from sex, only to feel emptiness and depression. You’ve made resolutions to change, but have failed time after time. Sex addiction.
If that sound like you, welcome! You’re in the right place. I help people who struggle with anxiety, depression, stress, self-esteem, and addictive behaviors make positive changes in their lives. I help people get well.
Does this sound like you?
Talking with a counselor is a big step for you. You’ve struggled with this issue for a years. You’ve searched blogs, forums, and watched YouTube videos for ideas how to solve the problem on your own.
The day has come when you realize that Googling your problem is not the same as doing something about it.
The day has come make the courageous decision talk with someone about what’s gone on for far too long. It’s time to do something about this. It’s time to take action. It’s time to grow.
If that sound like you, welcome! You’re in the right place. Talking with a counselor is not a sign of weakness. It’s a bold statement that you’re serious about getting stronger.
Who I work with – What I do
I help people who struggle with depression, stress and anxiety, self-esteem, and addictive behaviors. I place special emphasis on helping men who want to break free from pornography and sex addiction.
When I work with someone, I focus on their strengths as well as their growth areas. I don’t see them as a diagnosis, but as a person facing a challenge. Sometimes it is a severe challenge.
I help them identify the resources they have or can develop in order to overcome the things that are holding them back.
But you still have a lot of questions about counseling, especially if you’ve never talked with a professional counselor:
- What’s counseling like?
- Will the counselor judge me for the challenges I’m facing?
- Will it be worth the time and money I put into it?
- Will the counselor be a good fit for me?
About me
The first thing you need to know about me is that I’m an imperfect person. I don’t have all the answers. I haven’t figured it all out for myself. I make mistakes. In Christian language, every day I miss the mark.
But I am not content to remain that way. I’m passionate about my own change and growth. Passionate about my Christian spiritual development and growth. Passionate about improving. Passionate about learning and getting better.
To borrow language from Gallup’s StrengthsFinder® resources, I am constantly on the lookout for information that can lead to growth and performance. I am energized when I nd relevant and tangible information that can help others.” For me, relevant and tangible information is like a well-supplied toolbox. Different tasks require different tools. Gallup calls this strength theme Input®
Not only do I stay open to new and authoritative information, I strive for mastery. I enjoy growing in the con dence that comes from having expert level knowledge and skill to help people with the challenges they face. Gallup calls this strength theme Learner®
I think deeply about the issues that my clients wrestle with. My clients know they won’t receive simplistic answers to complex problems. They need and deserve better. I strive to give that to them. Every session. My clients appreciate that I ask them to wrestle with “stretch questions” as well. As a result, many of my clients report that they experience change and improvement. Gallup calls this strength theme Intellection®
Whether as a counselor or as a coach, I enjoy forming a solid working relationship with my clients in order to help them achieve their goal. Over the years, a number of my clients have returned to counseling or coaching with me because they value the solid relationship we have built. They trust that what they share with me about their lives – their strengths as well as their challenges – will be honored and used in a way that helps them grow. Gallup calls this strength theme Relator®
My clients are intelligent people who expect excellent care. I seek to meet that expectation in every session. To provide that level of care, I strive to stay abreast of current thinking on the issues I specialize in. That means there are some issues that I do not have education or training to treat effectively. When that happens, I provide referrals to other therapists who specialize in that area of concern. Gallup calls this strength theme Responsibility®
I am committed to use my strengths, talents, training and experience as a counselor to help you make effective and long-lasting changes in your live.
How I Do It
Helping a person make significant changes in their lives involves a number of steps.
Step One: Identify the Challenges
My clients and I assess the impact of the specific challenges they’re facing using a number of reliable assessments. GAD-7 assesses anxiety. PHQ-9 assesses depression. AUDIT assesses substance abuse disorder (addiction to alcohol)
Contact me for more information how these assessments can help you.
Each client also completes a personal BioPsychoSocial Inventory to look at major life events that have contributed to the challenges they’re experiencing.
My clients identify the way they orient themselves towards life (personality) and the way they typically respond to life’s challenges. The Taylor-Johnson Temperament Analysis® (T-JTA®) and the NEO-PI-3 (™) are excellent tools designed speci cally for this task. Clients complete one or the other of these personality assessments online. The results are emailed to me. I discuss the results with my client as we collaborate on a treatment plan.
Couples (pre-marriage, married or living together) complete the TJTA® Criss-Cross as well as Drs. John & Julie Gottman’s Sound Relationship House assessment. These assessment help provide a HD view of the strengths and growth areas in a relationship.
Step Two: Identify the Strengths
The T-JTA® and the NEO-PI-3 (™) do more than identify the challenges a person might experience. They’re also tremendously useful for highlighting the personal resources they can rely on or develop during therapy.
Along with these tools, I help my clients identify other strengths they have using StrengthsFinder® to assess their signature strengths at work and in their personal lives and Values In Action to highlight their personal values and character commitments.
I review the results of these assessment with my clients during Step Two in order to confirm or modify our understanding of the client’s strengths and growth areas.
Step Three: Collaborate on a Treatment Plan
Therapy is a collaborative process. I work with my clients to write a plan of action that will guide our work together. A well-written treatment plan is always S.M.A.R.T.E.R. (I briefly describe S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goals here)
Step Four: Take Deliberate Action
Even before they start counseling, my clients are changing. And change is always happening. However, at this stage, I help my client become intentional about the new behaviors that they will employ.
Step Five: Monitor Progress
Every session, I ask for feedback from my clients to help us evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment plan and revise it as necessary. At the beginning of a session, I ask my clients to complete a short four-item Outcome Rating Scale that looks at the progress they’re making. At the end of the session, I ask them to complete a short four-item a Session Rating Scale that evaluates how effective I was in the session.
Step Six: Maintain Momentum
Everyone experiences times of accelerated growth and change. We also experience periods of slower progress and decreased motivation. During those times, it’s my job to coach or cheerlead my clients’ progress and encourage them to keep their eyes on their goal.
Step Seven: Create a Relapse Prevention Plan
Few of life’s challenges are fully resolved in a single set of counseling sessions. To keep a slip from becoming a fall, and a lapse from becoming a relapse, I help my clients write a relapse prevention plan. This plan includes such things as recognizing the warning signs of falling back into old patterns as well as the resources they have to regain balance and continue making progress.
My philosophy of counseling
Every therapist has a “theoretical foundation” – a set of beliefs about how people change, and how the therapist will help the client move through the change process. Fundamental to my philosophy of counseling is my rm conviction that change is possible. People recover.
As a Christian, I am convinced that God has created you. You are not an accident. Because of this, you have great worth. Regardless of your faith, I am committed to treating you with dignity and respect. I am committed to helping you make the most of your one-and-only life. You matter to God; you matter to those around you.
As a counselor, I am committed to using only those resources that have been demonstrated to be effective. I use evidence-based therapies because they work.
I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) because for more than three decades, it has been proven to be effective in treating a wide range of problems. Click here for a good description of CBT, as well as helpful resources (You might find the British accent interesting).
I supplement CBT with Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT) for the same reason: it has been proven to be effective. Click here for a good description of Solution Focused Therapy.
I read and apply what experts are writing. I encourage my clients to read and apply the insights of the experts as well.
Why this matters to you
Most people look for a counselor when the problems they’re experiencing have become too frequent, too intense, and has gone on far too long – sometimes years. While they realize that their problems won’t be resolved overnight, they want to work with someone they can trust to help them in an effective and efficient manner.
After reading this, you may have questions about counseling with me that you would like to talk about. If that’s you, contact me today for a free 30-minute phone consultation.
