WHAT TO EXPECT IN SESSION

I want to say a few words up front about what working together tends to look like, because I think it’s fair to name the orientation rather than let you discover it by accident.

I’m not primarily interested in symptom checklists as the endpoint of this work. If you’re here because something in your life doesn’t fit the shape a diagnosis would give it — a period of disorientation, a shift in identity, a loss that reorganized how you see things, an experience that changed what you believe is possible — that’s the kind of work I find most worth doing. I take that seriously rather than trying to route it back toward “getting back to normal.” Let’s work together at THRIVING. “Growth stems from the most amazing places.”

Clinically, this means I draw on an integrative base — Gottman Method, Internal Family Systems, and other evidence-based approaches — but the underlying lens is depth-psychological. I’m interested in what’s happening beneath the presenting concern, not just in managing what’s on the surface. If something feels bigger than a label, I won’t flinch from it, and I won’t try to shrink it to fit one.

This also means I bring a non-pathologizing stance to identity, relationship structure, and ways of living that fall outside conventional frameworks. If part of what you’re navigating involves that kind of territory, it’s not something you’ll need to justify or explain from scratch.

In practice, sessions involve real clinical structure — we track what’s working, use measures where useful, and stay grounded in evidence-based technique. But the aim underneath that structure is transformation, not just reduction of distress.

WHAT CLIENTS OFTEN SAY

Clients often describe feeling like they didn’t have to minimize what they were going through to be taken seriously. Something that felt too big, too strange, or too far outside a typical diagnostic category was met with curiosity rather than a rush to categorize or contain it.

People frequently mention that the work went deeper than symptom management — that sessions helped them understand the underlying pattern or meaning beneath what brought them in, not just reduce the immediate distress.

Clients navigating identity, relationship structures, or life circumstances outside conventional frameworks often say they appreciated not having to educate or justify their experience from scratch.

And people often note that the work didn’t feel rushed toward “moving on.” There was room to sit with disorientation or transformation as real processes, not problems to be resolved as quickly as possible.

WHAT PROGRESS OFTEN LOOKS LIKE

Often it means carrying less internal noise day to day — less bracing, less over-managing — and having more energy for the rest of your life. You start noticing old patterns as they happen instead of only after the fact, and you’re able to name what’s going on inside you rather than just feeling stuck or overwhelmed.

Decisions start coming from what actually matters to you, rather than from anxiety or habit.

BACKGROUND & APPROACH

I hold a PhD in Altered States of Consciousness with a concentration in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy and Research (Michigan State University, 2021), along with LCSW, DCSW, MBA, and MSW credentials. I’ve been in clinical practice for 35 years, licensed since February 9, 1991.

The approach has changed substantially over that time. Earlier in practice, the model was closer to standard evidence-based symptom treatment (three years, advanced training in cognitive behavioral therapy and Certified Addictions Counselor) — organized around diagnosis and symptom reduction as the primary measure of success. That shifted over time, informed in part by a period of significant personal transition that reshaped how I understood suffering and change. (Training in Buddha psychology, three years advanced training in Gestalt psychotherapy. ) That shift led to the PhD work noted above, along with advanced training in psychedelic-assisted therapy and research from the California Institute of Integral Studies and training in Holotropic Breathwork. It also deepened an existing interest in Jungian and depth psychology, which now functions as the underlying lens for the other modalities used in practice — Gottman Method, IFS, and related evidence-based approaches sit on top of that depth-oriented foundation rather than standing alone.

I provide preparation and integration services related to psychedelic experience as part of standard psychotherapy; I do not administer or supervise the use of any controlled substance, and psilocybin services are not offered through this practice.

The practical shift clients would notice: less emphasis on fitting their experience into a diagnostic category, more emphasis on what the experience means and what it’s asking of them — while still maintaining the clinical structure and evidence-based technique that grounds the work.

HOW TO REACH ME

The simplest way to reach me is by phone at 503.703.9833 or by email at Rm**********@*ac.com. I will respond within 24 hours. Please note that phone and email aren’t monitored continuously and aren’t appropriate for urgent matters — if you’re in crisis, please don’t wait for a callback or email reply — call or text 988 (the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), go to your nearest emergency room, or call 911.