It was Ralph Waldo Emerson who once said that, "What lies behind us and what lies before us matters little compared to what lies within us". For more than 30 years I have focused on helping children and adults, individually, in couples, in families and groups achieve strength, peace and confidence by improving conflict resolution, communication, stress and anxiety, anger management skills, child and adolescent behavioral problems, and parenting skills as well as improved functioning and decreased emotional distress related to depression, self-esteem, post-traumatic stress and bipolar disorders. Through a combination of interpersonal, cognitive-behavioral and motivational approaches I have seen my clients make meaningful and lasting transformations in both emotional and behavioral dimensions. I provide evidence-based, focused, and time-limited treatment with documented results for mental health, behavioral health and substance use issues.
In addition to general mental health counseling, I have specialized in the area of domestic violence with both perpetrators and survivors of violence since 1980. I offer services for abusive men through the Alternatives and Treatment for Abusive Men Program and counseling for survivors at the Midwest Domestic Violence Resource Center.
I am fluent in Spanish and provide psychotherapy in Spanish and English. I provide consultation, training and expert witness services includes work with private and public agencies and professionals working with domestic violence, workplace violence, corporate communication and anger management-fitness for duty issues. I have conducted training programs nationally and internationally.