About

I may be the oldest counselor on this site. I have over 50 years of practice- first at a mental health clinic and then in full time private practice. The population I serve is wide ranging from teens to adults facing end of life concerns. I specialize in LBGTQ and transgender issues. I was trained psychodynamically and in a family of origin framework. A book I have long since forgotten ended with the statement "we all come to adulthood crippled."- meaning that we are all limited by the family experience we grew up in. Early on we developed defensives and strategies for how the survive in that family garden we got thrown into. We then hang on to them for dear life as adults. They are usually not effective in our adult lives. As an example, I grew up in a family were both parents were depressed and often did not speak. I learned how to be the family therapist and could always figure out what was going on. It has made me a pretty good therapist professionally, but a lousy life life partner until I got some good therapy.
So, I spend a lot of time getting to know clients families and their family in roles. Then I use a variety of therapies to help people give up old patterns and develop new ones. CBT is incredibly helpful. The process can be fun. I once asked a client to list all the rules he learned growing up. He said none and then came in the next week with 80 of them! So, come join me for the trip!