Since 2002, I’ve been counseling youth and young adults, addressing a variety of mental health and behavioral concerns. These days, I meet primarily with TEENS OF ALL GENDERS and EMERGING ADULT MALES.
My clinical focuses include:
- Trauma
- Depression
- Substance Use Concerns
- Problematic Pornography Use
- Other Behavioral Addictions
I also have significant experience with:
- Anxiety Disorders
- Attachment Challenges
- Existential Concerns
- Impulse Control Issues
- LGBTQ+ Topics
- Mood Disorders
- Oppositional Behavior
Over the years, I’ve developed some niche specialities. These include sexual trauma in adolescent guys, the unique challenges of being an adopted teen, managing intrusive thoughts, and ending oppositional behaviors. I frequently meet with autistic teens and transgender individuals.
I know it can be difficult to find an experienced male therapist, especially one with my specialities. With that in mind, I occasionally meet with MEN INTO THEIR THIRTIES seeking services specifically for trauma, problematic pornography use, or compulsive sexual behaviors.
MY APPROACH
Change is a process, not an event. My goal is to help you or your teen successfully navigate that process. We’ll do this by making choices about what to change, identifying what to leave behind, and developing the insight to move forward.
Numerous studies show that a strong therapeutic alliance — which we can define as the connection between therapist and client — is absolutely essential for positive counseling outcomes. This is especially true with teens and emerging adults. With this in mind, I’m very relationship-oriented. Initial sessions focus on developing a strong alliance and most of the clinical work I do is one-on-one.
Beyond this relationship-oriented foundation, I’m pretty pragmatic. That means I use a variety of clinical strategies with the goal of helping you or your teen get unstuck. These include motivational interviewing, existential approaches, narrative therapy, and parts work.
Motivational Interviewing. Many people are extremely ambivalent about the process of change, especially teens and emerging adults. This is true even for those who want to attend counseling, because change is hard. Motivational interviewing is an evidence-based approach that focuses on resolving this ambivalence, identifying genuine reasons for making change, and supporting the process of doing something new.
Existential Approaches. Existential psychotherapy addresses pointlessness, stuckness, and The Big Questions — topics which can be especially relevant to those dealing with depression, trauma, and substance-related concerns. Existential approaches help us identify these concerns, explore them, and develop practical strategies for managing — and even embracing — them.
Narrative Therapy. The stories we tell about ourselves define how we act, think, and feel. They determine how we interpret the information of our lives, how we interact with the world, and how we make sense of our past, present, and future. Narrative therapy encourages us to revisit these stories — exploring if they remain useful and re-authoring the parts that no longer serve us.
Parts Work. We all have different “parts” of our Self — such as Protectors, Critics, Rebels, and Self-Bullies. These parts help us navigate trauma, depression, anxiety, and other difficulties. However, in their effort to keep us safe, they can seem demanding, stubborn, or argumentative. Parts work acknowledges all our parts and explores strategies for letting them retire from their work.
CONSISTENT, PREDICTABLE, AND IN-PERSON
I very much believe that truly effective counseling must be consistent, predictable, and in-person. This is true with all therapy, but especially with concerns such as trauma, substance use, behavioral addictions, and attachment-related concerns.
To help assure the most useful therapeutic experience possible, I only schedule sessions on a weekly recurring basis and all appointments are in-person.
It seems to me that therapy — at least truly meaningful therapy — is a liminal space. We intentionally come to a set-aside place, where we are neither here nor there, in order to focus specifically on some sort of change or transition. Meaningful liminal spaces simply can’t be created online.
Weekly in-person sessions aren’t what everyone wants, and there are many therapists willing hold sessions online or with less frequency. However — for the clients I meet with who are wishing to address the concerns I focus on — I absolutely believe the best possible treatment outcomes require consistent, predictable, in-person sessions.