About Me
I was trained as a psychologist at the Florida State University clinical psychology program in Tallahassee, Florida, receiving my Ph.D. in 1995. I have been licensed to practice psychology in Maryland for more than two decades. I have also been granted approval from the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT) to practice telepsychology with residents of several other states.
I have helped hundreds of people with a variety of emotional and behavioral problems using an unconventional style that rejects the traditional notion of "mental illness." So, I don't approach these problems as if they were dysfunctions in you. Instead, they are your understandable attempts to escape the inevitable and painful dilemmas in human living. I work hard to meet you where you are. Your views, goals, perspectives, and desires are the important elements in finding comfort and realizing contentment. My role is to help you pay attention to your unspoken assumptions, the language you use to think and talk about your problems, and how these affect your beliefs about the possible paths available to you and the actions you take. Psychotherapy with me is not a direct or instructive form of treatment. Instead, it is a meandering and psychotherapy is about how you think. It isn't about how you live with your emotions. It is about the perspective you bring two relationexplorative process about what is meaningful to you and what you want out of life. There are no special treatment techniques or "recipes" I can apply to make you change or feel better. To quote a well-known psychologist: "Psychotherapy is not what you think. It isn't the healing of an illness. It isn't guidance from a wise counselor. It isn't the mutual sharing of good friends. It isn't learning about esoteric knowledge. It isn't being shown the error of one's ways. It isn't finding a new religion. Psychotherapy isn't what you think... Psychotherapy is about how you think. It is about how you live with your emotions. It is about the perspectives you bring to relating with the people who matter to you. It is about what you aspire to in your life and how you may unwittingly make it harder for yourself to reach those goals. It is about being helped to see that the change you seek is already within you. It is coming to recognize and appreciate the spark of something eternal that is your core." (Bugental, J. (1999). Psychotherapy Isn't What You Think: Bringing the Psychotherapeutic Engagement Into the Living Moment. Phoenix, AZ: Zeig, Tucker & Co., Inc.) My recent book, Smoke and Mirrors: How You Are Being Fooled About Mental Illness - An Insider's Warning To Consumers (see below), elaborates on my views. See my Informed Consent Form and Curriculum Vitae below. ![]()
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People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar. - Thich Nhat Hanh