About
First Impressions
What will you see when you meet me and walk into my office?
I’m probably shorter than you imagined. You’ll soon realize that I’m much friendlier than I look.
My current office is small and comfortable, an ideal space for one-on-one consultation and couple’s work.
What’s it like to be in therapy with me?
You’ll have plenty of time to talk about what you want, to tell your story from your point of view.
I will listen non-judgmentally. I’ll ask clarifying questions to help you more fully express yourself.
You will have the experience of feeling respected and treated with dignity.
Who needs therapy?
Since about half of all marriages end in divorce, many children don’t have good role models of healthy relationships.
Even when parents don’t divorce, many – because of the way they were raised – feel inadequate as parents.
All too often, children reach adulthood unprepared and uncertain.
If your life or your relationships aren’t working, DIY or call an expert?
Watching Oprah or reading Dear Abby may help, but you probably have personal concerns that they may not answer.
Everybody, at least at some time in their life, would benefit from talking to someone with the education and experience to help them with their personal and relational concerns.
I figure that if my washing machine is broken, I probably could find a manual, take the washer apart, go searching for the parts that need replacement, and do my best to put it all together again.
I also figure that it would probably be easier, quicker, and done better if I call a repair person.
Therapy is the same type of opportunity to get help from an expert.
More About Me
Getting Started
As a young Roman Catholic priest, I took courses in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) and discovered that I was completely out of touch with my emotional self.
CPE taught me that in order to understand other people’s feelings, I had to understand my own feelings.
I realized that I had a lot of work to do. I felt even more ill-equipped to provide effective pastoral counseling in ministry, especially to couples.
Education
When I had the opportunity, I enrolled in a Master’s program in Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling.
Soon after, I fell in love and eventually married. Following the appropriate channels, I left clerical life and started working with couples and families as a licensed Marriage Family Child Therapist.
A doctorate in Psychology gave me a better understanding of individuals and what they bring into interpersonal relationships.
Over the years, I have enjoyed learning the theories and techniques of various psychotherapeutic approaches, including Client-Centered Therapy, Transactional Analysis, Gestalt Therapy, Hypnotherapy, Bioenergetic Analysis, Family Systems Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy, and others.
Work
Besides always maintaining a private practice, I have worked in a variety of settings, including: Hospice; High School Consultant for administration, faculty, parents, and students; Group homes for abused and neglected children; Psychological Testing for a variety of agencies; Workers’ Compensation evaluations and psychological treatment.
Family
Certainly the most important and transformative transitions in my life involved marrying my wife, Mary, and becoming the father of six children. We are grandparents to seven grandchildren… so far.
Another transformative experience has been learning to be a conscious, supportive parent to my non-binary adult child. My experience has given me a desire to be a supportive resource to the LGBTQ+ community and, in particular, transgender people and their families/allies.
Arizona
After 35 years in private practice in Southern California, Mary and I, with our Labradoodle “Kiwi,” moved to Tucson in 2016. In March 2021, we moved to Show Low.
It is a pleasure to be providing therapy services to our White Mountain community. I am happy to take my place as an elder in the therapeutic community.