Who I Am as a Therapist

Why I Became a Therapist

At a particularly difficult point in my own life, I discovered something that has stayed with me ever since: honest relationship can be profoundly healing.

Being genuinely known by other people—and learning to know and be accountable to others in return—changed the way I understood healing. Community, belonging, honesty, and connection became more than ideas to me. They became essential parts of how I wanted to live.

That experience ultimately led me toward becoming a therapist.

I don't see therapy as something separate from being human. It is one person sitting with another person and trying, together, to understand what is happening. Sometimes that means making sense of pain. Sometimes it means challenging an old story. Sometimes it means grieving what cannot be changed. And sometimes it means discovering that a different way of living is actually possible.

I find this work deeply meaningful. I get to witness people become more honest, more connected, and more intentional about the lives they're creating—and I don't take that privilege lightly.

Who I work With

I particularly enjoy working with people who are curious about themselves and willing to question the stories they've inherited about who they should be.

That includes teenagers and young adults finding their footing; men and teenage boys navigating expectations around masculinity; people who appear to be doing fine on the outside while quietly struggling underneath; and those who feel like the black sheep of their family or find themselves pushing against the limitations of conventional ways of living.

I also enjoy working with people who simply want to become a better version of themselves—to break cycles, build healthier relationships, understand themselves more deeply, or choose a different path than the one they were handed.

In many ways, these are people I recognize. I've occupied many of these places myself.

That matters to me. I want to be the person I wish I had at different points in my own life: someone who can offer both compassion and accountability, who doesn't reduce you to your struggles, and who can hold onto a sense of possibility when it's difficult for you to find one yourself.

Who I Am Outside the Therapy Room

I'm a husband, parent of toddler boys, and an increasingly humbled caretaker of two very needy senior cats.

I like demanding challenges that are just beyond my comfort zone: a grueling hike, learning a new craft, sport, or game, and figuring out how something works so I can eventually make or fix it myself. I'm happiest when I'm learning, discovering, building, or trying to understand how something fits together. Essentially, when I’m playing.

I spend time in the garden, ride a fixed-gear track bike, skateboard, work out when life allows, and have an unreasonable attachment to Vans skate shoes.

I love music—especially with a good beat and bass line on a great set of speakers, or something emotionally evocative enough to make me stop and think. I also enjoy making music in considerably less conventional ways, including testing the limits of my children's xylophone, drums, and keyboard. I'm particularly good at turning familiar songs into increasingly ridiculous little ditties.

But more than almost anything else, I love being with people.

I'm naturally curious about people, and I tend to lose track of time when I'm talking, laughing, arguing, learning, or simply spending time with someone. Connection isn't just something I talk about in therapy. It's one of the things I value most in my own life.