Find out more about my journey, experience, and FAQ’s
Over a decade in the mental health field
For most of my adult life, I have been working in the mental health field. I started out working with inner city youth in Akron, Ohio. As I immersed myself in the systems around my clients; school systems, their peer groups, families, communities, and justice systems, I realized that understanding the systems around my clients gave my work a more profound impact. This focus on systems theory led me to study Marriage and Family Therapy.
Marriage and Family Therapist
My Master’s Level experience from University of Akron offered a unique “dual licensure” track which gave me the full training in traditional individual models of therapy as well as all of the family systems and couple therapy models that would be essential to understand as a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT). With this background, I see every concern, every emotional struggle, every hope, and every longing as they relate to relationships and dynamic systems.
Personal connection to the work I do
I’ve been introduced to hundreds of therapy models- but I will NEVER forget the instant and immidiate impact of being introduced to Internal Family Systems (IFS) or Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). Typically you get introduced to a model and think “I think this will help my clients.” This was completely different- the thought was “This is going to help me.” As further explore IFS and EFT as a person and as a therapist, the excitement and depth of that first introduction keeps expanding and my work feels more and more like an adventure.
Evidence-based training
Since falling in love with IFS and EFT, I have completed all of the IFS Level 1 modules through the Internal Family Systems Institute and I’ve completed the externship, all four core skills modules, as well as additional training on how to use EFT with sexual dynamics. These models support the idea that lasting change happens most quickly and most profoundly through corrective emotional experiences. These corrective experiences with self and with others activate neuroplasticity in the brain, solidify security in self, restructure relationships to function around vulnerability rather than self-preservation, and ultimately help us reauthor the narratives of our lives. The thing that most impresses me with IFS and EFT is how well these models create organic and lasting change. I am currently finding that IFS and EFT flow together beautifully and this combined approach is the backbone of my work.
Complexities with Faith
I work with lots of folks who are either in a ministry role or who have complex histories with evangelical culture. I myself grew up in a family in which the ministry culture defined everything. For some, their faith is their primary source of strength. For many, their journey in Christianity has created isolation, loneliness, resentment, and has ultimately caused trauma. It can be very confusing when your faith in God is both a source of strength and a trigger for helplessness and fear. Being in the ministry often causes those within to feel unable to speak up about their suffering leaving them powerless and isolated. I enjoy working with those who are processing the complexities of their faith, needing to re-process injuries due to purity culture, patriarchy, or the shaming culture that wounded them, and I love bringing spiritual elements into therapy when it feels welcome.
My style and personality
In a previous life, I was a “musician.” I put quotations around the word because I think you need to receive some sort of payment to be considered an actual musician. Aside from free booze. Either way, when I met my wife, it became clear that although the musician part of me was a fly by the seat of your pants romantic, it also had tendencies to lean into irresponsibility and distraction. It took me a while to introduce my musician part back into my life and into my identity as a therapist. IFS and EFT have been wonderful models that offer a safe structure for me to really play with. A lot of the work I do is introducing people to “play.” The musician in me loves reminding me now that playfulness and improvisation are ingredients for connection and healing. Both for the client and for the therapist. I am hopeful that our time together will be structured and guided but also full of improvisation and creativity.
FAQs
What advice would you have for couples in general from your experience?
Never stop exploring one another or yourself.
How long will this take?
It makes sense that this would be the most frequently asked question I tend to get. Who wouldn’t want to know when their suffering is going to end? It’s normal for me to work with people 15-20 sessions but that’s just to give you an idea. The important variables here are complexity of the problem, complexity of the goals of therapy, and how invested clients are in the change process. Although I can’t give you a specific number, I can say that I like therapy to feel a bit like a game: “How quickly can we hit our goals, enjoy our life, save our money, and fire this guy?”
Are we going to make it? Should we stay together?
This question is especially hard because I don’t believe it’s up to me to answer. I leave this one up to my couples. I don’t make any assumptions about whether or not anyone should get divorced or stay together. My commitment to you is to provide a safe space to process all decisions, and regardless of the decision, to guide a path of healing.
I do make assumptions about safety and couples work. If I sense some kind of safety issue, we would highlight the issue that seems to be plaguing the relationship, discuss ways in which to become safe, and stop couples work if the safety plan isn’t useful.
What got you into the work you do now?
Often times, the work we choose in life is a reflection of what’s important to us. This is certainly true for me. I thought psychology was interesting but really became a focus of mine when I began working with inner city youth towards the end of my undergraduate experience. The longer I worked with that population, the more I was thrown into working with parents of clients, couples, entire families, and communities. The systemic work just drew me in and seemed to make more of an impact than anything I was doing on an individual basis. In my graduate program, there was an on-site educational clinic which gave us unbelievable exposure to all kinds of clientele. I always liked working with couples but didn’t have as much formal training and experience. The exposure through the clinic at the University of Akron helped me laser focus in on couples. Working with couples immediately ignited me. The energy and vulnerability it takes for clients and clinicians to do couples work is so different than that of individual work. Being in that environment with those who are opening themselves up like that is such an honor. It really feels like sacred ground. And the more I do it, the more exciting it is.
What are you most proud of as a therapist?
I’m excited to be able to bridge two powerful models of therapy together. Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is the primary model that I have extensive training in and it feels like “home base” to me as a therapist. At the center of EFT is a focus on attachment, bonding, and emotionally reparative experiences. And I love those elements of EFT because of how immediate and lasting the changes are when emotional reparative experiences happen. When I got introduced to Internal Family Systems (IFS), I immediately started to connect with myself as a human being differently and realized that this model was going to change me as much as it would change my clients. The IFS model is all about “parts of self” and building relationships with those parts rather than trying to get rid of or avoid them. Bringing together the attachment focus of EFT and the “parts of self” language of IFS has been a natural evolution in the way I do therapy. Bridging these models together brings an excitement and creativity out in how I interact with people as a therapist and allows me to feel more explorative and playful in my work.
What are the specifics of your professional credentials, training, and affiliations?
Education: Master of Education in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Akron, Graduation 2017
Licenses: Ohio Independent Marriage and Family Therapist License F.2200257, Indiana Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist License 35002202A. .
Professional Trainings
Internal Family Systems: Level 1 completion through the Internal Family Systems Institute, Internal Family Systems Immersion: Integrating IFS Across Clinical Applications, and Using Internal Family Systems to Treat Sexual Addiction.
Emotionally Focused Therapy: Externship and all Core-Skills Trainings (1-4) through International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy, “Sex as a Safe Adventure” (Using the Emotionally Focused Therapy model to improve sexual intimacy),
Prepare/Enrich: facilitator training.
Memberships and Affiliations: American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists Member since 2016, International Center for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy Member since 2018, Internal Family Systems Institute since 2024
