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615-293-3780
Services offered:
TBRI® Training
Pre & Post-Adoption Consultation
Individual Counseling
Couple Counseling
Family Counseling
Possible Issues:
• Relationship Issues
• Anxiety and Depression
• Anger & Rage Issues
• Marital Difficulties
• Attachment Issues
• Adoption Issues
• Trauma
• Negative Coping Skills
• Abuse and Neglect
• Adjustment Issues
• Peer and Sibling Conflicts
• Behavioral Difficulties
• Learning Difficulties
• Developmental Concerns
• Grief and Loss Concerns
• Separation and Divorce
Pre-Adoption:
As a counselor and TBRI® Educator, I offer a safe space for parents to confess and explore their distress, fear, and concern surrounding adoption. I can then assist them in developing positive yet realistic expectations and equip them with proven skills and processes that will aid them on their journey, always allowing the appropriate amount of space and time they may need to affectively grieve previous losses and acknowledge any possible obstacles that might be hindering their true desires.
Post-Adoption:
Adoption does not end when your child arrives at home. It is a lifelong journey filled with both jubilation and tribulation, and at times you may need help along the way – forming secure attachments, understanding your child’s unique struggles, managing emotional and behavioral issues, or simply learning new skills to solve new problems. These challenges are all opportunities for you to strengthen your relationship and reaffirm your love and commitment to one another. I offer consultation, TBRI® training, and counseling to help you meet these challenges and to support you on your journey of adoption.
Pre & Post-Adoption/Foster
Support Services
As adoptive parents of two, one infant and one older child, my wife and I greatly appreciated the services that were offered to us through our adoption placement agencies; however, though helpful, these services could never fully prepare us for what we have experienced and continue to experience as adoptive parents. Perhaps some of the blame rested in both our reluctance to admit we didn’t have it all figured out and our apprehension to ask the hard questions for fear of being labeled as unfit parents and therefore denied adoption. This fear really seized us when the adoption agency conducted its post-placement visits. I was not about to tell our social worker that we were wrestling with certain issues and risk our baby being taken away! So how did we resolve our struggles and fears? At 43, my wife and I decided to find the training we needed to become the “perfect parents” (insert joke here), and I went so far as to return to school for a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy. I also completed extensive training in Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI®) – the gold standard for caring for children from hard places – and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) – a comprehensive and integrative therapy designed for trauma resolution. I would be honored to use my training and experiences to create an affirming, shame-free environment in which to work with you, knowing first-hand both the joys and the challenges involved in creating a new family for parents and children alike.
