Professional Background
I am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) with my M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of Montana. Before entering private practice, I worked for the non-profit Roots and Resilience (formerly Providence Mental Health) utilizing their Applied Family Systems framework to work with clients impacted by intergenerational trauma. I worked with many veterans through this agency experience, and also provided counseling informed by the Duluth Domestic Violence curriculum to clients who were mandated to attend counseling through the court system.
Prior to grad school, I spent 3 years as a remote suicide crisis counselor with the Trevor Project. I pursued additional trainings while in school to focus on LGBTQ+ mental health, gender-affirming care, and addictions, particularly behavioral addictions such as pornography, sex, shopping, and gambling. More recently, I have begun extended trainings in OCD best-practices and EMDR to strengthen my clinical foundations in working with complex trauma.
Personal Background
After being raised in California and living in multiple states from Washington to Michigan, I now feel lucky to call Montana my permanent home. I love all the stereotypical Montana activities: camping, backpacking, hiking, rock climbing, cross-country skiing, paddleboarding, and even sleeping in mouse-infested Forest Service cabins. Indoors, I love to read historical non-fiction with my temperamental cat Beatrice perched (hesitantly) on my lap. I’m also committed to a daily yoga and meditation practice.
I decided to become a counselor after therapy saved my life in my mid-20’s. Many years later, I feel beyond grateful and privileged to get to pass along this gift of self-trust, inner worthiness, and resilience. And if you feel skeptical, hopeless, or terrified to start - I’ve been there, too.
Notes on Identity
Well over half of my clinical experiences have been working with clients with marginalized identities, particularly clients who are transgender, queer, Two-Spirit, and/or BIPOC. I recognize that finding the right counselor where you feel safe enough to express yourself may go far beyond a list of specialties or certifications. Because of this, it’s important for me to briefly share my identities so you can understand my perspective and how that might show up in the therapy room. I am a white, straight, transgender man. While this doesn’t mean that I will exactly understand your unique experience if you are also LGBTQ+, it does mean that I hold a personal and professional understanding of how that identity may impact the way you move through the world. It also means that I feel extremely comfortable bringing your identity into the room and discussing how it relates to joy, experiences of discrimination, internalized stigma, sex, relationships, gender expression, politics, and navigating the medical system.
If you are BIPOC and feel comfortable working with a white therapist, I welcome you. I will not doubt or question you when you discuss experiencing racism and microaggressions, nor assume that my cultural norms and opinions apply to you and your culture. If you have questions regarding how I am engaging in anti-racist work and reflection as a counselor, or if you would like help trying to locate a counselor who is also a person of color, please reach out.