Maybe you’ve been to other counselors, and, for whatever reason, you’re not looking them up right now.

Maybe you’ve tried everything you can think of, and now you’re searching for a counselor for the first time.

Either way, you’re reaching out and hoping I can be helpful.

If you can feel relaxed, open, and honest with a counselor, then you are likely to get something out of the experience. If you can feel relaxed, open, honest, AND confident in their skills and approach, then you will definitely get what you need.

Not every counselor is right for every person. I went through several before I found the person I could like, trust, and get what I needed. That right person is so important to find.

Counseling is important because it works.

You can come unstuck, even if you feel like you’ve tried everything or that your problem is too big to handle.

You will move through a process of connecting, gaining awareness, figuring out where you want your life to go, and then getting there.

I’ve learned what works, and people have grown immeasurably through our work together.

If counseling is going to be helpful, feeling understood is the most important element. That means having a counselor who knows how to join you where you are, understand the gravity of your situation, and laugh when it’s funny.

You make a big decision when you decide to go talk to someone you don’t know about the most important and most personal parts of your life! I get it.

Gifted, talented, creative, asynchronous, overexcitable, twice exceptional, highly sensitive, intense, quirky – If you see yourself or your teen in this list, know that I specialize in work with gifted teens, adults, and families.

My service ethic led me from Warren Wilson College to community reconciliation work in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

From there I continued a trajectory toward a career in service. In 2001, I graduated from Western Carolina University with a degree in Community Counseling, and I’ve been a practicing counselor ever since.

In addition to working with clients, I also served for eight years as an elected official on the City Council of Asheville, North Carolina while also serving on numerous other boards in the community.

At our first session, I’ll ask you a version of this question, “If we are successful, what is going to be different in your life/lives?”

From there we’ll keep our eyes on solutions, through a style that incorporates Solution Focused Brief Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Family Systems Theory, Narrative Therapy, and Existential Therapy.

I live in West Asheville with my wife. I enjoy chess, writing, leisure sports, reading, travel, movies, and spending time with family and friends.

I love Asheville, and I find great satisfaction in offering competent, compassionate service to the people who live here.