About
I am a Registered Psychologist registered in British Columbia (#1903) and Washington State (PY-60102437). In addition, I am registered with the national credentialing bodies of the Canadian Register of Health Psychologists and its American counterpart, the National Register. I entered the mental health field in 2003 after earning degrees from the University of Southern California and Wheaton College Graduate School (with a stint in corporate America in between). I first practiced as a Licensed Professional Counsellor in Illinois and then became a psychologist in 2008. As a psychologist, I directed treatment at Meier Clinics, an internationally renowned Christian group practice, followed by a stint as the supervising psychologist of DuPage Community Clinic, an innovative grassroots-supported clinic serving the indigent uninsured of a community near Chicago.
In 2009, I moved to Canada to join the core faculty of Counselling Psychology program at Trinity Western University, where I continue to teach and supervise counselling students. Between 2009 and 2014, I was also part of the multidisciplinary team of Back in Motion Rehab, treating clients with disabilities and workplace injuries and helping them to return to work.
I work with both older adolescents and adults struggling with a broad range of conditions and issues, including depression, anxiety, trauma, relational and marital conflict, and obsessive-compulsiveness. My clinical areas of focus are sexual disorders and the treatment of mental health concerns among people of faith – areas in which I have published in various peer-reviewed academic journals. At the heart of my approach is cognitive-behavioural therapy, a strongly evidence-based approach, which I augment with other techniques known to be effective for specific problems, such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for trauma and Gottman methods for martial issues.
As a Christian, I contextualize my approach and strategies within a spiritual and faith-affirming framework, which is important for many of the Christian clients with whom I work. I firmly believe that therapy cannot be done in an existential or spiritual vacuum, but that the most effective therapy contextualizes evidence-based techniques to a client’s system of personal meaning to help them to create a life that is rich with meaning and purpose, not just devoid of psychological pain. Because most people are in search of greater meaning and appreciate a more “ultimate” frame of reference, I find that clients of many walks and backgrounds are comfortable working with me even if they do not share my worldview.
A US citizen, I am now a Canadian Permanent Resident and I live in Fort Langley with my wife and two children. A former city dweller used to big metropolises (I’ve lived in Singapore, Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York City), I have come to appreciate the more bucolic charms of the beautiful Lower Mainland.
Abbreviated Curriculum Vitae
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