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I am a Licensed Professional Counselor and certified as a Fellow in Thanatology: Death, Dying, and Bereavement by the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC). I am dedicated to counseling those who are suffering mental, emotional, social, moral, and spiritual pain related to death, dying, and bereavement. I provide bereavement counseling to people of all ages suffering the loss of a parent, spouse/partner, sibling, child, or unborn baby. I have also led bereavement groups for Hospice Austin, the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Austin and Central Texas, The South Texas Chapter of The ALS Association, and the Blood and Tissue Center of Central Texas. Having counseled and comforted many caregivers and their dying loved ones, I am thoroughly familiar with the dying process and the stresses of being a caregiver.
Besides counseling, I have made numerous presentations on death, dying, and bereavement to various organizations and churches; have appeared on radio and television programs including Austin Now, Austin Faith Dialogue, and Law Talk with Brad; and am the co-producer and interviewer for the documentary video This Place. In addition, I have been an adjunct faculty member at St. Edward's University where I taught a graduate-level course on death, dying, and bereavement.
Prior to beginning my career as an end-of-life and bereavement counselor, I spent 25 years as a business executive, mostly in finance. When I left the corporate world, I had been the chief financial officer and corporate secretary for two high technology companies and one private investment firm. I continue to sit on the Board of Directors of one of the high technology companies.
I have received a B.S. and M.A. in Chemistry and an M.B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin, and most recently, an M.A. in Counseling from St. Edward’s University.
PHILOSOPHY
My approach to counseling is oriented toward exploration and mentoring.
When someone losses a loved one because of death or divorce, it can be as if that person is suddenly dropped into a foreign territory. There are no signposts indicating what to do, there is no path to follow to get back on familiar ground. It is as if the world as it was known is suddenly shattered and nothing makes sense any more. As an experienced companion, I am not present to tell you what to do. I accompany you in your exploration to find stable ground, helping you over the barriers and around the craters along the way. I give you the time, space, and experienced mentoring you need to put your world back together. The new world won't be the same one as before, but it can be one richer and fuller than you might have ever imagined.
METHODS
I believe that the principal means that people explore their lives is through verbal expression. Many times when we say what we're thinking, the words can sound different, the emotions that arise are different, and the meaning of what we're saying is different than when those thoughts were swimming around in our heads. As humans we have the unique ability to verbally communicate what we are thinking and, to some extent, feeling. Talking, therefore, is the principal way my clients and I explore what is happening with them and to them.
On the other hand, there are also times when words are just not adequate to express what is going on inside of us. We humans are also creative creatures and sometimes we can express in writing, painting, drawing, music, drama, etc. things that words alone cannot. There are times, then, when my clients conduct their exploration using various creative forms of expression involving action, doing, and participating, as well as talking.
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