(He/Him pronouns)
I have been a Licensed Independent Social Worker since 2001 and received my Master of Social work from State University of New York at Buffalo in 1998. I have been a member of the National Association of Social Worker since 1996 and Association of Play Therapy member, since 2006.
I specialize in working with children, adolescents, and families. My areas of focus are family problems, school issues, social problems, mood and behavior issues, parenting skills, trauma, and victims of abuse. I utilize numerous social work interventions including cognitive/behavioral therapy, solution focused therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, and play therapy.
I offer services designed to help people to identify goals and to access their internal strengths. Together we can concentrate on the steps needed to meet your individual and/or family’s goals. I believe that each of us has the inner strength and resources to accomplish our life goals. I help people use their internal and external strengths, offering suggestions and alternatives to help facilitate growth. I urge you to make the most of the planned activities, appointments, and assignments, including active involvement on your part and full participation of all those who are involved. I am working on training to become a Certified Geek Therapist. Geek therapy brings geek culture into therapy for personal growth and healing. This is an evidence-based treatment method.
I have started a social/anxiety skills group for middle, high school-aged children, and young adults who may be struggling with social issues and anxiety. I will be using collaborative storytelling games of fantasy and adventure in a therapeutic group setting. I have received my training from Game to Grow organization and I am awaiting certification using therapeutically applied role-playing games (TA-RPG).
I became a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor in 2018. I have been providing supervision to play therapist’s and social workers who are working towards state licensure since 2008.