About

You can call me Dan. From a young age I was interested in a career that focused on helping people. I smile when I think about it but there was a time I thought a career in medicine was what I wanted, but I am so bad at math that didn't work out. There was a time I thought I was being called into ministry as a pastor, and I wanted to be a pastor that could counsel, but circumstances didn't allow that to happen either. Maybe it's ironic and maybe it's not but I'm not really that much of a talker so I never dreamed that becoming a therapist would be my thing. But then again, therapy is a lot about listening and I am really good at that. I enjoy helping others move from places of frustration, and sometimes despair to places of hope and healing. I have always been taught that people deserve respect and to be treated with dignity regardless of what their issue is or where they come from and that is a value I continue to hold. I also find it interesting that the three careers I pursued had their focus in the three things I still believe are important for a life of fulfillment, purpose, and contentment and those are physical health, spiritual health and mental health. I received a Masters of Divinity degree in 1991, a Masters in Social Work degree in 1996 and my License as a Clinical Social Worker in 1997. I went back to school in 2016 and obtained a MBA in Healthcare Management in 2017. My 28 year career in mental health has been split between providing clinical services, supervising others providing clinical services and administration in the area of Healthcare Quality and Compliance. I believe the client is the expert. You know your self better than anyone. You know how you feel when life happens, you know what frustrates you and what makes you angry. You know what is upsetting and what makes you sad, and you know when something isn't right or that something is off. The problem is that sometimes you don't know why, and if you don't know why, you can't fix it. I take an approach that starts with uncovering what you believe, because so much of what you believe becomes reality whether it's through our behavior or through some kind of a self fulfilling prophecy . The problem is that sometimes we believe lies. I use a combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy, solution focused therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and a positive psychology of sorts to uncover the lies and replace them with truth. I work best with people experiencing depression and anxiety, relationship issues, uncertainty, religious or spiritual crises. Men, I know there may be some of you who struggle with pornography and it feels wrong but you can't stop. It may be causing relationship issues or a sense of guilt or shame. There are reasons for that too, and it can be addressed and it doesn't have to define you. Regardless of the issues you experience, whether depression or anger, or anxiety, they took years to develop, so there are no quick fixes. But I believe that if you are willing to do the work we can work efficiently and effectively to replace fear with courage, restlessness with contentment, anger with joy, and despair with hope.