About

Emotions are messy.

Ages ago I had a jewelry box with a pop-up ballerina that twirled to music when I opened it. That was its best feature. Really, it was the only feature.

Whenever I got a new necklace or bracelet, I’d stash my treasure in it. Sometimes a chain broke, or a locket got lost. I saved what I could, adding it to the mish-mosh.

Before long, fishing out just one necklace, brought a whole clump of jewelry with it. What a mess! I remember wondering, “How’d this happen?” (I tried to blame my brothers, but they would have none of it.)

We’re all a mixed jumble.

That clump is a good image of the thoughts and emotions most clients have when they walk into therapy for the first time.

Unresolved ideas and unacceptable feelings have accumulated over the years. Now, it’s a jumble of lost hope.

Bad memories. Broken dreams. Heartaches. Worries. They’re all tangled together. It feels both scary and overwhelming.

They need help to sift, sort, and make sense of it all. Without that, they’re stuck.

Sorting it out makes sense of it.

We each have a box. I don’t know what’s in your box, but I admire the courage it takes to open it and have a look.

My own was quite a mess. It took dedicated work to extricate the contents and untangle the knots.

Solid counseling and a whole lot of prayer helped. Slowly, and often in fits and spurts, I developed the confidence, clarity, and freedom to become my best self.

That’s why I’m excited to begin the process with you.

Come as you are, tangles and all.

My office is a place to get comfortable and look inside, with no expectations.

As Henri Nouwen put it, “Our world is so full of conditions, demands, requirements, and obligations that we often wonder what is expected of us. When we meet a truly free person, there are no expectations, only an invitation to reach into ourselves and discover there our freedom.”

Freedom starts here.

We’ll start with whatever made you look for therapy in the first place.

It may just be the tip of the mess; but when you’re eager for something in your life to improve, we work on it. We’ll talk about what’s going on and over a few sessions, target some goals for your therapy.

There’s no judgment and no such thing as a right or wrong past. It was what it was. No such thing as a good or bad feeling. It is what it is.

Untangle the clump and find the treasure.

During the next few weeks, we usually work on noticing and naming the difficult feelings you’ve been avoiding.

Emotions buried alive never die; but when seen through the eyes of compassion, they can lose their intensity.

Just being able to step back, recognize, and name your feelings is powerful. It’s the start of a new relationship with them – one that gives you the power to be in charge.

Sort the junk from the gems.

As we move from surface issues to deeper things, we’ll look at why you think and feel the way you do.

Some solutions you’ve plain outgrown. We’ll work at finding better ones.

Some beliefs about yourself weren’t true when you inherited them. (Yes, you are enough.) We’ll sort and salvage the usable parts.

And some gems hidden by the mess need to be dug out, so you can sparkle again.

It’s a lot of work to be transformed into the best version of you. But I’ve got a boatload of tools that can help.

Your potential is always bigger than the problem.

As your confidence in who you are at your core begins to grow, you start doing life differently. You feel free. That allows you to explore your purpose and your passion – and ponder questions that open-up all sorts of new possibilities.

What if I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be?

What would I be doing with my life if all my needs were met?

What if all the bad things I’ve been through were part of a bigger plan for my life?

It’s exciting to see people come alive and live the way they were meant to live, the way God designed them to live.