My Background
- I received my Masters of Social Work (MSW) degree from the University of Kansas in 1983. While doing graduate study at KU, I specialized in clinical practice in preparation to offer counseling and psychotherapy services.
- According to Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration there are currently 2.5 times as many clinical social workers as there are clinical psychologists providing psychotherapeutic services in this country.
- I am licensed by the state of Kansas as a clinical social worker, at the highest level, which is the LSCSW (Licensed Specialist Clinical Social Worker).
- I have worked in a variety of mental health settings since 1973. My experience includes work with adults, couples, children, families and groups around a broad range of life challenges. These challenges include anxiety, depression, behavior problems, stress, grief and loss, relationship problems, mind-body difficulties, work related issues, divorce, sexuality and spirituality. I have also worked extensively with childhood trauma and abuse, post-traumatic stress, drug and alcohol problems, eating disorders, AD/HD, personality disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, and other persistent mental health related challenges.
- Even though I have trained in and draw from a wide variety of approaches to psychotherapy and counseling, I am not wedded to any single approach. Rather, I collaborate with those who seek my services to discover what works best for each individual, couple, family or organization.
- Some of the areas in which I have trained include family and marital therapy; numerous forms of individual and brief therapy; child and adolescent therapies; trauma informed therapies (including EMDR, EFT, Brainspotting, Somatic Experiencing); grief and loss counseling; crisis intervention; biofeedback and stress management; adoption and attachment issues; evidence based practice; strength and competency based practice; AD/HD Coaching; behavioral health; integrative medicine; and hypnotherapy. I have also developed my own approach to mind-body-spirit integration and healing, which I call "Spiritually Informed Therapy," that many people have found to be uniquely helpful.
- I recently retired from my role as Professor of Practice at the University of Kansas' School of Social Welfare where I taught a variety of graduate practice classes for 25 years.