Welcome to Lighthouse Counseling. Therapy is based upon boundaries and trust. Please carefully review the following information since it is the foundation on which the counseling relationship is built.

Education and Licensure: 

• Bachelor of Science, Psychology and Sociology, Spring Arbor University
• Master’s in Social Work (MSW), University of Pittsburgh
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) by the state of Virginia, 1989

Professional Experience: I have worked as a mental health professional since 1980. I also worked on a treatment team as a clinical social worker on a Physical Rehabilitation Unit helping people recover physically and psychologically from spinal cord injury, stroke, amputees, head trauma and back injury as well as helping them deal with grief and loss. I also have experience working in a secular setting with families in the inner city of Pittsburgh with children, youth and families doing individual psychotherapy, family, marital therapy and group therapy. I have worked as a therapist in Christian Counseling, private practice setting since 1989. I presently  do individual therapy with adults 18 and over, dealing with depression, anxiety disorders, self esteem as well as recovery issues. I have a great deal of experience dealing with abuse, trauma, dissociation, PTSD and grief and loss.

Professional Standards: I abide by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) code of ethics.

Therapeutic Orientation: My approach to counseling is eclectic, meaning that I take skills from several therapeutic approaches and use them when I deem them appropriate. I appreciate parts of Psychodynamic, Solution-Focused therapy, CBT, Reality Therapy and Internal Family Systems Therapy. An important mode of treatment however is something that I have developed from a biblical, Christian perspective called Mind Renewing Healing Prayer.  Many have found this approach effective as they participate in this healing process, especially in dealing with lie-based beliefs and thinking distortions.  It is rooted in an approach called Theophostic Healing Prayer.

Publications: I have written two books on the Mind Renewing Healing Prayer process and I am working on other books and training resources.

• Jesus, Healer of the Brokenhearted : http://amzn.to/2lcNUVi
• Jesus, Deliverer of the Brokenhearted: https://amzn.to/3jLzuZt

As a client, you have the right to be an informed consumer and as such may choose the provider which best suits your needs. You may also request a referral to another counselor or ask for a change in the treatment approach. You have the right to seek a second opinion about your condition and treatment. It is important that counseling be a safe place for you.