MY JOURNEY AS A THERAPIST
PERSONAL
I grew up in a small town in central Pennsylvania after moving numerous times throughout the east coast. Throughout my childhood music, sports, and writing short stories became my greatest outlet for self expression and to help cope with anxiety. Later in my teen years philosophy and psychology became a main focus of my education and free time that sparked my interest into the field of mental health.
In my late teens and early twenties I began my journey to establish myself as an individual shaped by creating boundaries, exploring and processing my lived experiences of leaving a home environment that was marred with addiction, mental health issues, and financial problems. This lived and processed experiences has shaped my practice and motivates me to teach others how to develop skills to do the same.
In my spare time I enjoy going to the gym, hiking, off-roading, playing guitar and drums, spending time with my wife, three dogs and cat, and traveling back home to spend quality time with my family.
Read more about my lived experiences in my blog.
BACKGROUND
I have been working as a licensed social worker for 18 years supporting clients during their difficult times. Focusing on depression, anxiety, martial stress, PTSD, and death & dying. Working in diverse communities in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Florida, Texas, and Colorado, with clients ranging from 5 to 107 years of age. My masters thesis was on stress and stress management and continues to be a focus in my work and client partnerships. In all of my roles as a therapist I’ve acted as an advocate for my clients and built long lasting partnerships, which resulted in their personal success.
THERAPEUTIC APPROACH
Utilizing techniques from cognitive behavioral and humanistic therapies to address a wide spectrum of challenges such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, grief, and individuals needing behavior modification. This is accomplished through options such as home-based, walk & talk, and teletherapy.
A Bio-pyscho-social approach, or PIE (person-in-environment) is a more holistic approach to a therapeutic session. When deconstructing a client's issues a social worker views the person not as a diagnosis, but rather an individual with a unique set of circumstances and traits that has brought them to a point in their lives that they have sought out counseling.