What do I do at the Counseling Center?

I'm a licensed clinical psychologist and staff clinician, and I serve as the center's student veterans liaison. I provide individual therapy, crisis support, and consultation services, and I co-lead our DBT group. I'm also a member of JMU's HOPE team, an interdisciplinary group that supports students with eating and body image concerns, and I'm currently pursuing further specialization in this area.

What's it like to work with me?

Fundamentally, I believe life is about moving toward what matters most to you, rather than running away from what's scary, or painful, or simply unknown. I think that profound change is always possible. That none of what came before this, no thought or feeling, no pattern of behavior or experience, can guarantee what we'll do next. That we are free, in other words, from ourselves.

While diagnostic labels can be helpful, I like to approach therapy by first looking at the patterns underneath such labels, the core struggles of being a person: meaning and purpose, trouble in relationships, grief and loss, overthinking and worry, and challenging emotions. I integrate a number of approaches, including ACT, DBT, existential therapy, narrative therapy, and mindfulness, and my goal is to help you find the best way to navigate what you're going through and to move toward a life of meaning.

What do I do at JMU outside of the Counseling Center?

I share a home with my wife, a small menagerie of cats and birds, a rabbit, and a bearded dragon, some of whom you may get to meet as part of our animal-assisted programs. Outside of work I love to write and make art, watch movies, slowly learn French, and spend time in nature. Ideally not all at once.