About Me
Biography | | Client TestimonialsMy Approach
In addition to years of formal training, each professional counselor works from a base of knowledge gained through personal life experience. This is what gives each professional his or her unique approach. The broader and more lengthy the counselor's scope of experience, the more apt he or she is to bring unique and helpful insight to bear in counseling sessions.The uniqueness of my approach comes from a broad range of experience that spans over 40 years and includes personal life in the real world of construction and business ownership, married life and parenting. My experience also includes counseling and mentoring youth and working with displaced workers, college students, married couples, families and individuals representing a whole range of mental and relational issues.
My approach rests on two foundation stones, which, though they are not always in focus, are always present in the counseling process. First, I see all human behavior as having to do with human relatedness (or lack thereof). Anger, addiction, anxiety, depression, grief and motivation all have to do with fear, or concern, which in turn have to do directly or indirectly with relationship. So I emphasize attention to relationship and boundaries as a component of any healing or building process.
As a second unique point in my approach, I emphasize the understanding of purpose as a critical component of problem resolution. Identifying a problem doesn't ensure a person will go on to solve it unless there is an adequate purpose in doing so. On the other hand, when people understand purpose, they are usually able and motivated to address their own problems.
Using as a point of reference the relational and purposeful nature of human behavior is an approach that lends itself very naturally to questions of faith and meaning. These things are not necessarily the focus of a successful counseling outcome. However, for many they are essential in the overall process of life.
