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I opened my Austin, TX based private Psychotherapy practice in 1997, specializing in the treatment of marital disorders, mood disorders, trauma, chronic pain and psychosomatic conditions. It was my intention to offer a relaxed, personalized practice–one that would contrast with many of the managed-care dominated service providers in the Austin area, and I believe that goal has been successful. Before opening my practice, I was a clinical and management staff member with Austin Regional Clinic-Mental Health Associates between 1984-1997.
Families are very important to me. I have been married for 41 years, with two sons who are currently 33 and 28. My wife is a professor at Texas State University–San Marcos.
Spiritual practices are essential in life, and I feel very comfortable in exploring spiritual issues with clients in our therapeutic work. After all, we are made up of many parts—physical, mental, emotional, interpersonal and spiritual, not necessarily in order of importance. My personal faith background is in the Christian tradition. I consider myself interested in all faiths, however, and you will find at my office a spirit of curiosity and respect for all spiritual traditions.
After receiving my Master of Social Work degree from The Ohio State University in 1975, I worked in Columbus, Ohio at Southwest Community Mental Health Center. My wife and I moved to Austin in 1977, and from 1978-1984 I served as a clinical staff member at the Austin/Travis County MH-MR Center.
I co-founded The Milton H. Erickson Institute of Central Texas in 1987 with friends and colleagues: Seyma Calihman, MSSW, Carol Kershaw, Ph.D. and Bill Wade, LPC. We later separated the Institute of Central Texas into two organizations: the Institutes of Austin and Houston. Both of these institutes continue to provide training for professionals in the use of Ericksonian hypnosis in psychotherapy.
I am an Advisory Board Member for The American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, served as a reviewer for the Ericksonian Monographs, and contributed to Tales of Enchantment by Stephen and Carol Lankton. I have been on the faculty of regional and national conferences for the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, The Milton H. Erickson Foundation, The Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, the National Association of Social Workers, the Texas Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, and The Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback.
I obtained entrance into the Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW) in 1978. I am Board Certified through the American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work (ABECSW) and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). I hold a Diplomate through the American Hypnosis Board for Clinical Social Work (AHBCSW). I am an Approved Consultant of The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH), and was approved as a Fellow of that organization in 2004. I served as President of ASCH from 2009-2010.
I have lectured on Family Therapy at the University of Texas School of Social Work at Austin, and served as a volunteer for Capital Area Mental Health Center, the Central Texas Chapter of the Red Cross. I have been an active member of the state and local units of the National Association of Social Workers/Texas, and served as Chair of that organization's Chapter Ethics Committee.