About me
Sometimes, perhaps often, life is difficult. Life is especially difficult when we find ourselves dealing with situations, feelings, and moods that we don’t understand and don’t know how to handle, leading to profound doubt about ourselves and others, sometimes even God. While we all have to deal with these challenges for ourselves, since we are human beings, created in the image of God and on a lifelong journey of being formed into the likeness of God, we don’t have to do that by ourselves. In fact, oftentimes, the most responsible and faithful thing we can do is to ask for help.
I’m Michael, and I’m really glad you’ve taken this first step to seek help from a professional. May it be blessed! I am a Licensed Professional Counselor, a master’s level graduate of Saint Meinrad School of Theology, trained in Spiritual Direction by Ursuline Sisters and Pastoral Counselors at Mount St. Joseph Ursuline Retreat and Conference Center, and a master’s level graduate of the Pastoral Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Neumann University. I have specialized post-graduate training in various approaches to clinical therapy, including various trauma-focused, cognitive and behavioral therapies, to fit a variety of challenges. I have experience in helping people with challenges connected to moods, behaviors, relationships, parenting, and many other kinds of challenges that were holding them back from living the life they really want.
My work experience includes child-focused family therapy, working with law enforcement, first responders, people adjusting to life after prison, people struggling with relationships, and people needing to process and resolve memories of traumatic experiences that continued to cause great pain and difficulty. My approach to pastoral psychotherapy begins with the assumption that each human being is created in the image of God, that all of us struggle to enact this reality, and that many causes, spiritual and material, can interfere with living the fullness of life made available to us by Christ. I understand what I do as creating space for and serving the healing work of Christ himself in my clients, making use of the skills of clinical psychotherapy, combining techniques to meet the unique needs of each of my clients, in their journey of healing and growth. With my Christian clients, who express willingness and desire to engage in exploration of the salvation (healing) that comes through faith(fulness), I explore how clinical therapy is an act of thoroughgoing repentance, metanoia, turning the mind and behavior more and more toward the source of Light and Life, Christ Jesus, as expressed in a thousand different ways in our sacred writings, and the life of the Christian community, so that our "joy may be complete."
I welcome the opportunity to work with you, and may Christ our God, the Physician and Healer of our Body and Souls, bring to completion the healing work begun in you!
Specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Depression
Addictions , Relationship issues , Family conflicts , Grief , Intimacy-related issues , Sleeping disorders , Self esteem , Career difficulties , Bipolar disorder , Coping with life changes , Compassion fatigue , ADHD , Attachment Issues , Read more...
Clinical approaches:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Mindfulness Therapy, Trauma-Focused Therapy
Years of Experience: 8
Services offered
Messaging
Live Chat
Phone
Video
Licensing
ME LCPC CC6849
MO LPC 2016025948
Work with me!