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1.  How does your service stand out?

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2.  What do you enjoy about the work you do?

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3.  What is your typical process for working with a new client?

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4.  What education and/or training do you have that makes you unique?

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5.  Do you accept medical insurance or what do you charge for your services?

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6.  Why did you become a therapist?

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7.  What types of clients have you worked with in your practice?

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8.  What advice would you give a person looking to hire a therapist?

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9.  What questions should clients think through before talking to a therapist about their needs?

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1.  How does your service stand out?

 

• Therapy can be intimidating if this is your first time seeking help for mental or emotional health concerns. You may have questions that in the past have hindered you from reaching out.  Some only reach out for help in desperate times - as a last resort. Making this call may feel like climbing Mount Everest. You are not alone.

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• I will meet you there – in that lonely, maybe hopeless place.  Together we can sort out the barriers that have kept you from moving forward and develop a plan for moving them one at a time.

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• My clients describe me as loving and non-judgmental, as having insight that illuminates the hidden corners of one’s heart where pain, difficult emotions and distorted thinking moved in and got stuck, often, in the beginning, to keep us safe.

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• I rely on evidenced-based and scientifically proven therapeutic interventions that can help you get unstuck and better.  The answers to your questions about what is holding you back are within you. Together we will find them.

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• If you are experiencing troubling grief, paralyzing panic, overwhelming anxiety, depression, serious mental illness, questions about the impact of substance use, challenging relationships, narcissistic abuse, emotional abuse, traumatic past events, confusing codependency, unexplainable mood swings, paranoid thoughts, existential questions about your meaning and purpose, there is hope.

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• I have experience working with seniors, adults and adolescents with serious to moderate issues driven by the symptoms of mental illness and substance use. 

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2.  What do you enjoy about the work you do?

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• After practiced law I discovered that my gifting and passion was for work more directly helping people in crisis. I went back to school and became a therapist to help people uncover how they got off track - why are they sitting the bench while others are in the game. My most rewarding moments are when a client looks over their obstacles and begins to understand who they are and why they are here. They find ways to overcome set backs and get themselves off the bench and back into the game.  They get back to the unique and authentic person God made then to be with purpose, vision, and passion.

 

3.  What is your typical process for working with a new client?

 

• Engaging with a therapist can be scary and intimidating. I will meet you where you are. After meeting you and learning about your journey, I will share a little about mine and why I may be able to help. Together, we will identify your barriers to progress and agree on a treatment strategy or plan. As we work together and discover new issues we will make change to address things as they are revealed in the therapeutic process.

 

4.  What education and/or training do you have that makes you unique?

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• I earned a Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling. I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the State of Florida, Department of Health License Number – MH 18574, Issued July 7, 2019.

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• I also hold a Juris Doctorate of Law and am licensed to practice law.  For 20 years, I helped people solve their legal problems. I am also a father of four children. These experiences support and inform insight into how you got to where you are and what steps to take to begin healing and moving forward toward a more healthy and balanced life.

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• I am an experienced lawyer and Registered Licensed Mental Health Counselor Intern with years of personal and professional experience and a commitment to providing strategic help when help is needed. 

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• I am also the President and C.E.O. of Experience Matters, Inc., a 501(c)3 Florida not-for-profit corporation dedicated to the education of families in crisis because of mental illness and substance use.

 

5.  Do you accept medical insurance or what do you charge for your services?

 

• Experience Matters Counseling is an in network provider with most medical insurance carriers. Click here for a current list of providers. If you do not have insurance, my rate is $120  for a 50 minute session. I offer free thirty minute sessions for consultation and assessment of whether I am the right person to help you.

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6.  Why did you become a therapist?

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• A few years ago I began searching for more meaningful work. For three years I ran operations at a Sea Turtle Rescue Center in Juno Beach.  In time, I felt a compelling interest in helping people that are looking for help to get back into the game of life after being benched by the difficulties that life can bring.  When I began my re-education in the mental health field I very soon realized my interests, strengths and passion had been moving me in this direction for many years. 

 

7.  What types of clients have you worked with?

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• I see senior, adult and adolescent clients individually and I also work part-time at a psychiatric facility that serves adults and adolescents with serious mental illnesses including, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, personality disorders and addictions to substances, gambling, pornography and other unhealthy behaviors. I have special training and experience for helping those that have been sidelined by traumatic experiences.  I employ evidenced-based therapeutic interventions and have training and experience with family therapy, couples therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing and EMDR. I treat anxiety, depression, relationship problems and more serious mental illnesses.  I can help address relationship patterns developed by traits of conditions identified as personality disorders. 

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8.  What advice would you give a person looking to hire a therapist?

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• Every therapist will likely not be the right fit for you.  Even therapists have blind spots or personal styles that might conflict with your experience or story.  Look for a therapist that you connect with but is able to provide strategic insight that helps you to identify and differentiate between chemical imbalances, developmental deficiencies, the consequences of unhealthy behaviors, genetic predisposition, family dynamics, personality disorders, maladaptive patterns of behavior necessary to survive in an unsafe environment, the impact of prior emotional and physical trauma(s), and coping skills we needed in the past to survive.

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9.  What questions should clients think through before talking to a therapist about their needs?

 

• Interview your therapist like you would a potential crucial employee in your small business. You will need to trust them. You will need to feel connected. They need to be empathetic, smart and experienced. Experience matters. Ask about it. Have them tell you a story about their favorite client or a recent success. If a therapist tells you too much about their personal life this may indicate that they do not understand that your therapy is about you and not them.  If a therapist gives you too many pat answers and too much advice without teaching you skills for solving your own problems they may inadvertently be helping you create a unhealthy dependence on them without teaching you how to establish healthy boundaries with others. It is all about developing a healthy and authentic connection that facilitates your growth.

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