I was born and raised in Southern Oregon, where I completed my undergraduate and graduate studies in Clinical Counseling Psychology. After working 27 years as a Mental Health Professional providing direct services to four Community Corrections agencies in Oregon, I relocated to Minnesota in 2015 having accepted a clinical position with the Department of Human Services (DHS). In 2019, I returned to working in an outpatient mental health practice in Mankato, MN as I very much love this professional setting.

I grew up in a loving and supportive family who struggled financially at times within a single parent household. Despite the challenges this produced for myself and my siblings, my mother always emphasized compassion and respect for self and others. She instilled in us the importance of helping others less fortunate. Through her education and work as a Mental Health Professional, she continued with supporting this message with her community work until her early death in 1990 of Leukemia. I followed in my mother’s efforts to assist others through my 30 years of professional mental health work. During graduate school and beyond my formal education, it has remained my purpose to assist others in securing basic human dignity afforded to all individuals regardless of their current life situation or the negative impacts imposed on them through early developmental experiences. Specifically, I have devoted my professional life to assisting those who have grown up in poverty and/or those who have experienced class segregation or racism, traumatic event(s), struggles with chemical dependency and addictions, antisocial behavioral patterns, and difficult life adjustments. I accomplish this endeavor through my innate ability to forge personal connection with others, as well as provide evidence-based mental health interventions to people seeking greater self-respect, greater self-efficiency, and the maintenance of balance in personal, professional, interpersonal, and relationship experiences.

When I am away from the office, I continue to manage my own mental healthiness by traveling with my wife to visit State Parks throughout the nation. I have a love and passion for astronomy, weather, multiple environmental sciences, exploration of human history and historical sites, and other outdoor experiences. When I am not visiting with family or attending continuing education training, I enjoy riding my sport motorcycle exploring the countryside when the weather permits. This has become my meditative time allowing for the alleviation of life stress necessary for maintaining mental wellbeing. Getting out and appreciating what our environment has to offer, paying attention to the preservation of animal species, and traveling out of town to attend a musical concerts or sporting events, always enhances my connection with my environment and people I meet along the way. I believe this experience of being comfortable with oneself and with others best defines what Individual Psychology refers to as “Community Feeling.”

Background

Education:

BA in Psychology
MS of Social Science

Specialized Services:

-Eye Movement and Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) trained.

Population(s):

-Teens
-Adults

Specific Therapy Services:

• Trauma (PTSD) and Stress-Related Disorders
• Co-occurring substance abuse disorders and mental health disorders
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Adjustment Disorders/Significant life transitions

Treatment Modalities:

• Eye Movement and Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
• Adlerian Psychotherapy (AP)
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• Solution Focused Therapy (SFT)
• Trauma Informed Approach (TIA)
• Schema Therapy (ST)

Professional Affiliations: 

EMDR International Association (EMDRIA)
American Counseling Association (ACA)