Although I am a Washington state licensed mental health counselor and a licensed marriage and family therapist I am now primarily a trainer and supervisor of therapists. I see very few new clients, but can occasionally still be interested in a difficult problem.
As a trainer and supervisor of therapists, I focus on supporting the development of excellence in new and established counselors. I believe graduate training has not done enough to expand therapist competence beyond models and techniques and thus to develop EXCELLENCE.
I attended Occidental College, graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz and I received my Masters degree in Clinical Psychology from Antioch. I havel been on the faculty of Antioch University Seattle and Prescott College Arizona. I have been extensively trained in and have taught Ericksonian Hypnotherapy and use many of the principles and methods in my practice and in my writing.
My Interests and Commitments
Training. Post-graduate training is largely focused on technique and models of therapy. Graduate school supervision is often dependent on the student-therapist's report of the dynamics within a session rather than first hand observation, feedback and correction. I have been trained by some of the greatest therapists in the world and use that multi-model training in my mission to train EXCELLENCE through small group seminars and supervision and mentoring of therapists.
Hypnosis. I have extensive training and an abiding interest in hypnosis, the use of metaphor and story-telling, and the ways in which people think about and structure reality through their assumptions, habits of thinking and living, and the language they use to communicate their inner Selves to themselves and to others. I am especially interested in how people parent (as a verb) and I am committed to doing anything I can to help parents become more conscious, more intentional, better organized and more aware of how they are shaping the lives and futures of their children.
Couples I am committed to working with couples, both as the basic unit of the family and as the most important and potentially conflicted relationship each of us chooses in life. As with all my interests, I have had a great deal of training in helping couples. I am a very active and directive relationship coach as well as knowledgeable and experienced in how emotional and behavioral problems and substance abuse affect relationships. I believe that not every counselor can be an excellent relationship therapist or coach. Relationship counseling requires a particularly directive temperament and the stamina to withstand conflict.
ADD/ADHD For many years I have worked with youth, adults and families challenged by Attention Deficit Disorder. I have a clear understanding of the ramifications of this problem and the toll it takes on self-esteem, self-acceptance, learning, and success in life and in relationship. Knowing that most people with ADD are more creative and more intelligent than average, I am committed to collaborating with them using their resources through coaching to achieve more and live up to their unrealized potential.
