My work with adults includes individual therapy with men and women, couples counseling, marriage counseling, and family counseling. Sometimes individuals have needs related to work, stress, childhood issues, or relationships. I want to help. Life can be very difficult at times, and a caring therapist who listens and understands can be very important in helping with the changes that life sometimes requires of us. My hope is that ABC can be your oasis, a place where you find just what your heart needs to get you over the rough spots. I understand that in all relationships there is conflict. If you spend enough time with anyone, conflicts will naturally arise. I strive to help couples manage conflict in a manner that is much more positive than negative, and create a relationship of hope and freshness. If you are struggling in your relationship, maybe it’s time to spend some time with a trained, experienced counselor who will understand you and your loved one, and accept you where you are. Working with children: I meet with parents to assess their child's needs, make a plan to meet those needs, and provide therapy and support. That support includes frequent communication with parents about the issues of parenting their unique child, and accessing support in the community through self-help groups and organizations. The first session is for adults only. This is a time for your child’s therapist to hear your family's history, the unique story of your child, and to look together at what your child needs. It is not always necessary to know how your child has developed the emotional or behavioral issues he has, but it is important to discover ways to change or work with those issues. My commitment to parents is that I will always be available for support and I will never point an accusing finger at you. Being a parent is a tremendously difficult task. It is my hope that with counseling, guidance, and the right type of encouragement, parenting can be fun again for you.

Are you constantly fighting back thoughts that leave you feeling worthless, anxious, and depressed? Do you question whether you're deserving of happiness because of who you are or aren't? Do you even feel unwanted by others because important aspects of yourself are misunderstood, undervalued, or unseen? Imagine embracing your FULL self, in spite of these negative thoughts, and exclusionary messages about your identity. I can help you uncover the amazing person that's been buried deep inside. I will provide a warm and culturally centered space to help you start living confidently and with passion.

LiveWell* Congratulations on your first step to Wellness! At LiveWell* you will find that I treat a number of mental and behavioral disorders as well as life circumstances that may be impacting your quality of life. I specialize in repairing relationships that are damaged. This can be a painfull process, however the reward is worth it. I also conduct Premarital Counseling sessions. Take a realistic few of your loved one and work out your differences before you tie the knot. Believe Me......YOU'll BE GLAD YOU DID! Drug/Alcohol Issues are also my speciality. Not only do I treat the Addict/Alcoholic but the entire family system also. Are you in recovery and headed toward relapse? I can help. If you are a family member and your loved one is not ready for treatment, please come talk to me...... take care of yourself. No matter what your issue, at LiveWell* your success is my priority and your privacy is always respected.

I appreciate your courage for the act of seeking counseling. You may be suffering from the effects of one or more of the following: stress, depression, anxiety, grief and loss, anger, life transition, divorce, suicide ideation, etc. Clients come to counseling for many different reasons. No two clients are the same. You may be considering counseling for the following reason: Your life as you know it has become unmanageable. You have exhausted the solutions that you have used in the past and are willing to seek out a new direction. The good news is that you are not alone in your circumstances. Many people struggle. And there are improvements that can be made to increase your quality of daily living. Increased well-being is always the goal. We achieve that by addressing the follow areas: identifying personal strengths growing in person self-compassion building healthy coping mechanisms Often, we will talk about your life values, discuss personal responsibility, being mindfulness of your thought patterns, defining meaning in life and discovering purpose. The result is typically that you will begin to notice that you are living your life past simply surviving. Living your life on a more profound level is also a goal. Sessions are in part based on the counseling method Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which falls into the category of "mindfulness", "awareness" and "acceptance" of cognitive thinking. My clients come from all walks of life and have varying life experiences. I welcome diversity of any kind and clients that come from any level of their own self-awareness and discovery. All we need is a place to begin and I honor that we all need to start somewhere.

Thank you for considering me as your guide in seeking the life you have always dreamed of living. Often, you know something is not right, but you just can't seem to fix it. Sometimes it feels like your whole life has gone up in smoke. The challenge is to distinguish the cycles and dead ends our logical minds keep telling us should work, from our authentic self, our true self and balancing our lives from this center. What's left? Where will I go from here? Should I keep trying? All the "what ifs?" keep piling up inside. If you need help sorting it all out, I can help. My work centers on being with people, beyond just listening. Tuning in to the true meaning behind the words, connecting to your authentic self, and taping into that inner knowing that resides in all of us. Together we can decipher your thoughts, tune out the negativity and surpass the chaos. We can find a way forward.

Couples, sex and food problems are my specialties. With over 30 years training and experience as a therapist, I treat couples with intimacy, sexuality, communication, and infidelity problems. I treat eating disorders,sexual addiction (including pornography use), anxiety and depression. I am a certified weight loss specialist and hold an advanced certification in problematic sexual behavior and certification in systemic sex therapy with couples. I am extensively trained in body focused action approaches, hypnotherapy, brief solution focused therapy, and many couples approaches including Gottman and Imago, and EFT. I am presently completing my first book on compulsive food problems and compulsive sexuality and how both problems should be treated with a similar approach in order to have therapeutic results. If you are undecided about your relationship I will work with each of you to make a sound decision concerning your relationship and the best course of action for you both. I believe that all couples can find renewed passion and learn to live peacefully together. We can learn to love again even if we feel that love is presently non-existant between us. It is never too late to heal a relationship and resolve past wounds that have occurred within an intimate relationship. Intimate relationships bring deeper meaning into our lives, the conflict within them is there to help us grow and transform us into positive more selfless people. This is why I feel all relationships hit a difficult impasse at some point in time. If this is your time, it is your opportunity to grow and become a more caring, confident and empowered individual.