People have always told me that I was insightful and helpful to talk to. I also felt that many of the people in this profession could be arrogant and condescending, and I simply felt that I could do better.

I like interesting people, people who have unique life experiences and perspectives. That's a real privelege for me. I hope that I am helpful to them. Honestly, my biggest risk is getting too deep into complex and bizarre ideas with people too much like me. Some of my best outcomes have been with simple people who needed me to keep things simple. That kind of self-discipline is important for me. Nowadays, I try (mostly successfully) to take this simple approach with even my most complex clients.

I like working on mens issues. For me, all roads tend to lead to relationships. I like making connections between work-life and home-life, marriage, parenting, career, and family issues.

That mental health diagnoses are all psychological constructs. These are just clusters of symptoms that seem to occur, but they do not necessarily relate to biological or chemical issues. Just because someone "diagnosed" you with some disorder does not mean that diagnosis is a real, living, breathing, entity. The diagnosis is just a shorthand for a cluster of symptoms, a snapshot of how you presented yourself at the time of diagnosis.

My wife inspires me daily. My children inspire me often.

I am likely to say something they have not thought about before. I hope that I don't sound like most counselors, which can be a bit surprising.

I want to have a general idea of what the presenting problem is. I understand that it may take time to fully open up, and I am grateful to clients who have the courage to tell me right away what is going on. At the same time, I'm interested in symptoms and situations. Diagnoses are seldom informative to me.

Know the who, what, when, where, and maybe the why of what is bothering them.

Mostly, I spend time with my wife and family. I actually enjoy working on my house, which I am refurbishing room-by-room, down to the studs. I like walking, camping, reading, and writing. I also play guitar, poorly.

I am a serious man with a sense of humor.