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.

Professional Standards: I am a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in the state of Virginia. I adhere to both the ethical guidelines of Licensed Psychologists and the AACC. Both can be provided to you via email, upon requests. 

Education and Experience: I received my doctorate in Psychology in 2012 from Regent University. Throughout my time at Regent, I worked with children and adolescents, adults, couples, and families. In every practice that I’ve worked in thus far, I’ve been in Christian practices and worked predominantly with clients who were hoping to integrate their Christian faith into their treatment. Since this has been a major part of my training and practice, I’m quite comfortable in integrating Christian faith with psychological practice. In 2017, I received my certification as a Christian sex therapist. As a Christian sex therapist, I follow the guidelines of the American Board of Christian Sex Therapists (ABCST) and have signed their statement of faith. If you are using an electronic version of this form you can review their statement of faith and theology of sex here. I am also happy to provide you with a printed version of that statement. 

Therapeutic Orientation: I’m fairly eclectic in my approach and borrow largely from three main theories: cognitive theory, constructivist theory, and phenomenological theory. Taken together, I will approach my work with you by looking to understand how your past has influenced you, insofar as understanding how those past experiences will help us reach your current goals. I remain present- and future-focused in the work we do with the primary aim being reaching your goals as opposed to processing the many ways life has made those goals difficult to achieve. To better understand how these show up in our work together, I’ve added a bulleted list of some of my primary beliefs in how we work together and will explain them more fully at our first session:

• Our thoughts are powerful forces in our experiences of life. How we think about a concern, problem, or difficulty will heavily influence how we react to it.
• While our thoughts will heavily influence us, we actually have the cognitive ability to change our thoughts, our focus, and our perspectives which changes our experience of ourselves, others, and the world around us. 
• Our words matter greatly and have the power to enhance our lives and relationships, or tear them down. This doesn’t mean shying away from hard truths that may need to be shared, but learning to share those things in ways that benefit your relationships and bring healing. 

My clients have typically found me to be warm and kind, but also directive and challenging. I fully believe that you are the expert on your experiences, and that you are coming to me for my expertise in helping you make positive changes in your life. As I said earlier, many of my clients come to me specifically looking for a Christian approach. While I’m happy to also provide services that are not “Christian counseling,” my approach is directed by my Christian faith. If you have concerns or questions about this before we start, I’m happy to discuss this with you. 

Communication Guidelines: My preferred mode of communication is through email at DrJ@lighthouse-cousnselingllc.com. Please remember that email is not guaranteed to be secure (as noted in your consent form) and all communication through email must be saved to your electronic file. This means that this becomes part of your clinical file and subject to court-ordered records requests. I will also accept text messages to (757-377-1283) from clients for the purpose of scheduling or to let me know that you need a phone call check-in for an emergency session. When you text, do not share information regarding the reason you need a call back from me. Simply let me know that you need a call and I will let you know when I can accommodate your request. Please note that I only use this phone number during business hours. If you are in an emergency situation that requires immediate assistance, please call or text the national suicide hotline at 988 or call Fire-Police-Rescue at 911. You can also text the Crisis Text Line at 741741.