Services
- Individual
- Family
- Child
- Adolescent/Teen
About My Clients
You may feel overwhelmed by a situation in your life, or by life in general. During a period of such rapid cultural and societal upheaval, it is easy to feel unmoored, and can be hard to feel grounded. If you need to talk to someone but don't know where to start, and prefer a therapist who is not going to tell you what to do but will act as a sounding board for your thoughts, concerns, dreams, intentions, regrets, fears, and anything else you may be carrying, I would be happy to talk with you.
My Background and Approach
My focus is on helping clients cope with the often unseen effects of childhood trauma, which can show up later in life in a variety of ways. My approach is trauma-focused, which means in part that I seek to build a trusting relationship, and treat each client as the expert in their lives. I tend to encourage mindfulness cultivation and increased body/sensory awareness, as this can often help us more effectively manage our impulsive or addictive behaviors. In my career, I've worked with children and families in a public school setting, with incarcerated adults, and with adults in long-term shelter housing. I've been working in private practice since December 2020. A client shared the following feedback in October 2021: "Chris is kind, professional, empathetic, and understanding - after a lifetime of mistrusting and disliking therapists in general due to my own trauma, he is and has been exactly what I needed to start working through my issues."
My Personal Beliefs and Interests
I care deeply about remaking our world into one that is safe and just for all. I'm active in a couple of local organizations that are working to advance social and economic justice, including my local neighborhood association. In my other non-paid work, I do all that I can to support workers, marginalized peoples and groups, and the rights of non-human animals. I'm also a parent of young kids and am relearning many basic negotiation skills. As someone who has benefited from the healing work of skilled therapists myself, I believe strongly in the value of this work. I know how hard it can be to take that first step of reaching out to a therapist. In fact, in our deeply atomized society, seeking help can be viewed as a radical act. I believe that everyone - no matter what you've done or been through, how "damaged" you think you are - is worthy of love, care, compassion, and forgiveness, and that everyone has the capacity within themselves for healing and transformation.