I see my practice as an emotional emergency room. Although it's great when people come in to improve their quality of life, most come to therapy when their life situations have become very difficult and painful. All of us need to be able to modulate our stress and learn how to better handle life situations.
I see many clients who are struggling with depression and or anxiety, with which I have extensive in-patient and out-patient experience. I utilize newer techniques that , in my experience, more rapidly stimulate and support emotional processing in a deep yet safe and gentle way, including Brainspotting (see Arizona Brainspotting Center page). Also check out: http://www.brainspotting.pro/ .
I work closely with your M.D. or a psychiatrist when medications are necessary.
Since 1985 I have been treating clients who struggle with sex addiction and other forms of addiction and infidelity. Clients are involved in group, individual and couples counseling for recovery (groups listed below). I have found that those involved in these destructive behaviors need to identify what they may be medicating and need group accountability as well as 1:1 therapy to change and restore their health, integrity and relationships.
It is critical that spouses of these clients receive help with the devastating natural emotions triggered by behaviors that can only be perceived as violation and betrayal. This coupled with the deception and manipulation involved in keeping the behaviors secret takes an incredible toll. Many times it is this spouse who has discovered the behaviors and begins the process of getting professional help.
I have been treating these issues extensively since 1985 and am co-author, with Dr. Ralph Earle, of the book Lonely All the Time, a book for sex addicts and their spouses (privately published-call for details).
Couples therapy is also necessary in order to bring the couple back together after trauma. I am an EFT-trained couples therapist (see below for explanation) who most strongly supports the healing and preservation of marriages and families.
I offer groups for men dealing with sex addiction and or infidelity. See Men's Group on this site.
Another specialty is Intensive Fast Track counseling. There are times when people need to dig deeper to get pain addressed because it cannot be addressed in an hourly session-a-week approach. There are times when someone needs to get things done quickly due to business commitments. There are times when people feel a great deal of pain and want to address it quickly. In any of these circumstances a Fast Track may be helpful. When indicated, I see clients several hours a day and may have another therapist involved similarly to significantly drain the pool of pain to restore healthy functioning. This is done for couples as well as individuals.
It is normal for Couples to struggle when any of the above issues are going on. I am an EFT-trained couples' therapist, employing what I consider to be state of the art techniques allowing couples to de-escalate conflicts and restore intimacy to levels they may not have achieved before. For more information about EFT, copy, paste and search the following site on your browser: http://www.iceeft.com/whatis.htm
My faith is very important to me (Christian). In addition to being a psychologist who is a believer, I am a Board Certified Professional Christian Counselor. I actively incorporate each person's faith (if desired) into the recovery process. I enjoy working with people of varied faiths, cultures and backgrounds and work to be culturally sensitive to my clients and their beliefs.
General Office Information
Office Hours
Office hours are 8-5 Monday through Friday, with exceptions made for emergencies
Directions to Office
I am in "Old Town" Scottsdale. From the intersection of Osborn and Miller Roads go south one block to Angus Dr. Turn right and proceed to the near the end of the block. I am at 7510 E. Angus Dr., officing with internist Stephen Ritchie, M.D.
Finances
Avg. Session Cost: 175.00
Sliding Scale: No
Years in Practice: 30
Accepts Insurance: No Accepts Medicare: No
Qualifications
Graduate School: Rosemead Graduate School of Psychology
Year Graduated: 1978
License Number: 974
License State: AZ
Client Focus
Ethnicity: Any
Religous Orientation: Any
Gay/Lesbian Focus : No Preference
