Welcome to NGC! While I believe counseling to be rewarding and life changing, I recognize that seeking and attending counseling can be an intimidating process. I respect you for seeking counsel and I am honored that you might consider me to be your counselor. I believe we can all benefit from someone who will listen, remind us of our strengths, help us explore various ways to be well, and encourage us to try new strategies to help us grow.

 I have been a licensed professional counselor since 1994. Prior to and after being licensed, I practiced counseling for 14 years in various settings. In 1997, I earned my doctoral degree from The College of William and Mary in Virginia and in 1999 became a professor at the University of Tennessee where I train master’s students to be clinical mental health and school counselors and PhD students to be counselor educators and advanced clinicians. I will retire from UT in August 2025. I have provided clinical supervision to mental health counselors seeking licensure for 10+ years. I recently returned to the counselor role, and I plan to continue during retirement.

 Real estate agents are known for identifying “location, location, location” as the three most important factors in purchasing a home. In counseling I believe the most powerful change agents are “relationship, relationship, relationship.” As a counselor, I integrate Relational-Cultural, Cognitive Behavioral, Gestalt, and Family Systems Theories to build rapport, and to help my clients examine challenges and navigate new directions to achieve their goals.

 Experiencing new places is exciting. I’ve been fortunate to live in New York, Brazil, Wisconsin, Japan, Minnesota, Virginia, and Tennessee. I have been married for 41 years and have two adult children. Gus, our golden doodle, keeps us active and smiling. I enjoy kayaking, fishing, hiking, traveling, motorcycling, and landscaping. I believe humor is a wonderful healing agent and while I can take matters seriously, I like to find humor in situations. I look forward to getting to know you and supporting you in your new growth process.