Background
My training, personal, and professional experiences inform how I approach working with clients. I am a United States Marine Corps combat veteran, a former Emergency Medical Technician, Search and Rescue technician, volunteer firefighter, and law enforcement officer. I am also a former hospital chaplain who worked in a Level 1 trauma center, supporting patients, families, and medical staff through critical crises, grief, death, and palliative care, as well as in intensive care units, and the emergency department. This is where I learned that clinical interventions must be matched with a genuine understanding of human suffering.
Through these experiences—both personal and professional—I learned something critical: most people struggle not because they're incapable of overcoming life's challenges, but because they lack the support, tools, or encouragement they need. For more information, click here.
Objective
My goal and vision are to support individuals who are facing life's barriers and are ready to reach their goals. As life becomes more complicated, relationships strain, and people lose sight of what's truly essential and meaningful. The difficulties we face—trauma, loss, burnout, moral injury—can distract us from establishing achievable goals and pursuing the life we actually want. Through my experiences, I learned that people are not broken, do not need to be "fixed". People need to understand themselves better. Unfortunately, it is difficult to find professionals who understand where you've been, who can provide honest feedback without judgment, and who can help you find the internal resources and strengths you already have. Most approaches to mental health seek to keep people in therapy for years. Not my approach. My job isn't to create dependency. It's to help you resolve what's holding you back and equip you to move forward with your life.
Approach: Collaboration, Not Prescription
I do not believe in one-size-fits-all therapy. In our first session, we work together to find the best approach to meet your goals safely, realistically, and effectively. Here is what that looks like:
Provide you with honest feedback and a place to understand – I'll tell you the truth about what I see, not what you want to hear
Challenging current coping mechanisms – Together we'll examine what's working and what's keeping you stuck
Building awareness – You'll gain clarity on what's preventing you from achieving your goals (creating self-awareness)
Finding your strengths – My aim is to help you discover your own internal resources, not make you dependent on me
This is collaborative work. I bring expertise in brain-based interventions and help you better understand yourself. You bring knowledge of your own life and what you need. Together, we create the path forward by creating boundaries, identifying troubling patterns. Your current symptoms did not magically appear; they developed over time.
Licenses, Certifications, & Training
Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) – North Carolina
Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist Associate (LCASA) – North Carolina
Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) – South Carolina
Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC)
Doctoral Student – Focused on neuroscience applied mental health interventions for PTSD.
Education
Master of Arts in Counseling – Wake Forest University
Master of Divinity – Duke University (Clinical Pastoral Education, hospital chaplaincy training)
Bachelor's Degree – Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico
Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) chaplain
Graduate-level Training on the utilization of neuroscience equipment and research methodology: MRI, EEG, EKG
Statistical analysis expertise: SAS, R, MATLAB, SPSS, Kubios, Elite HRV
Advanced Specialized Clinical Training
Master Level Practitioner of Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) – Advanced certification in rapid trauma resolution
The Cortina Method (TCM) – Experiential process utilizing the latest neuroscience concepts to provide profound positive transformation, removing painful and debilitating emotions
The Ibrido Method
Trauma Informed Professional Practice (TIPP) – University of North Carolina - Greensboro
Trauma Resolution Practitioner – Specialized training in brain-based healing modalities. Additionally, I developed a specifically designed Intensive Protocol to provide genuinely brief intervention (often within 6 sessions) for those in settings where time and financial resources might not be readily available.
Program Development
My approach integrates neuroscience-informed brief methodologies that heal and resolve trauma and its associated responses—not just manage symptoms. Through research and clinical application, I apply Memory Reconsolidation principles to address the impact of how traumatic memories were stored and are recalled. Through this process, these memories can be effectively modified.
My work is often sought by healthcare workers, nurses, paramedics, firefighters, EMTs, behavioral technicians, school workers, caregivers, law enforcement, and current and former military personnel. Given the prevalence of trauma in the general population, many of my former and current clients are outside of these fields and have also benefited from this protocol. This protocol helps address violence, patient assaults, compassion fatigue and burnout, Moral Injury from impossible clinical situations, and cumulative trauma from high-acuity environments. Some effects of these situations include hypervigilance affecting home and professional life, and transitioning out of "response mode".
I also work with veterans and provide a specialized approach for those seeking to maximize their skills and goals. Ideal veterans are high-functioning leaders that do not require intensive disability-related support. I generally work with veterans by addressing combat-related trauma, military sexual trauma, transition to civilian life, identity and purpose after service. Regularly, we also address other memories not related to the military service. Some of the issues we address are burnout from chronic overwork, perfectionism and fear of failure, relationship strain from work demands, difficulty maintaining boundaries.
Philosophy on Change and Healing
Your nervous system is doing exactly what it was designed to do: protect you from threats. Anxiety, hypervigilance, avoidance, emotional numbness—these aren't character flaws. They are survival responses that made sense at one point but are now getting in your way. Part of my philosophy is that when we understand neuroscience, we can work with how your brain naturally works instead of fighting against it.
Through collaboration, we can challenge the patterns that no longer serve you and help you gain awareness of what is preventing you from achieving your goals—safely and effectively.
I believe in finding your internal resources and strengths. You already have what you need inside you. My job is to help you access it and give you the tools to move forward.
My Approach is Different
I Get Results
Most of my clients resolve their presenting concern in 8-10 meetings and within 6 meetings utilizing Memory Reconsolidation intensive approach. My practice is not built on dependency—it is built on helping people resolve issues and move forward with their lives. I do not keep people in therapy longer than necessary.
I Maintain Professional Boundaries
Our relationship is professional, not social. I am not in a position to be friend (in the general sense of the word). I am not here for gossip or to hear of and learn about new trends in society. I want to be part of your support system - not be it. I will be your therapist, your coach, or your consultant, guide, and someone to hold you accountable—whichever role serves you best—and I will maintain the integrity of that relationship.
I Don't Sugarcoat
If you are looking for someone to just validate your feelings and tell you everything will be okay, and that you are always right, I am not your person. I'll be honest and direct with you about what I see happening, why your current approach is not working, and what needs to change. I cannot make those changes for you. It is up to you. However, I will also be working on your behalf every step of the way.
I Stay Current
I am not coasting on old training. I actively conduct research, attend conferences, consult with colleagues, and stay current on the latest developments in trauma treatment and neuroscience. I engage in academic work and listen to what is emerging - what is helpful and what is not helpful. I strongly believe in continued improvement and learning because the people who trust me with their trauma deserve it.
Community Engagement
I am honored to work and collaborate with several nonprofit organizations that provide services to veterans and their family members. These partnerships allow me to provide trauma-informed care and consultation services to those that have given so much in service to others.
This work matters to me personally because I've been on both sides—as someone who served and as someone who now helps those who've served process what they've experienced. I believe in these organizations and seek ways to bring the latest resources to them.
Available Pathways
Depending on your interests, needs, and resources, I provide three distinct pathways:
1. Memory Reconsolidation Resolution Protocol (MR Intensive)
For rapid trauma resolution when you're ready to resolve specific traumatic memories
A 6-session intensive program using memory reconsolidation to address trauma at the source. Most clients complete the protocol in 6-8 weeks and see significant improvement in PTSD symptoms, anxiety, and emotional regulation.
Best for: Healthcare workers, first responders, veterans, and high-performers dealing with specific traumatic events.
Click Here to Learn More About the MR Intensive
Click Here to Schedule Your MR Intensive
2. Clinical Psychotherapy
For ongoing therapeutic support using your insurance benefits
Traditional evidence-based therapy for trauma, grief, anxiety, life transitions, and spiritual concerns. Available in-person or via telehealth throughout North Carolina and South Carolina.
Best for: Those who prefer insurance-based care or need consistent weekly support
Click Here To Schedule A Psychotherapy Appointment
3. Maintenance & Support for Established Clients
I offer Maintenance support to clients who after completing initial treatment attend sessions a few times a year and who want remain connected. After completing the MR intensive or an initial course of therapy, many clients want an established relationship they can return to during difficult seasons—without the commitment of weekly therapy.
This is best for those who want periodic check-ins and established continuity of care
Click Here for Established Client Link
If you are not sure which approach fits, schedule a free 15 minute Discovery Call and we will determine the best fit for your goals and needs.
No pressure. No commitment. Just a conversation about where you are, where you want to be, and what would actually help.
My Commitment to You
You can expect from me
Honesty – I will tell you the truth, even when it's uncomfortable
Expertise – I will bring the latest applicable neuroscience and evidence-based approach and research
Efficiency – I will not keep you in treatment longer than necessary
Collaboration – We will work together to find what works for you
What I expect from you:
Willingness to do the work between sessions
Openness to honest feedback
Commitment to the process, even when it's difficult
Trust that change is possible
Outside of Clinical Work
When I am not working with clients or looking into research, I'm engaged in outdoor activities, faith and spiritual formation, and spending time with my family.
Let's Work Together
If this information resonated with you and you want an effective resolution and not endless therapy, let's talk. Reach out. I know I am not the right fit for everyone, and I will be honest with you about it. But if my approach resonates with you and you're ready to do the work, I'd be honored to collaborate. I value direct, honest communication. I appreciate it when people say what they mean. And I believe that meaningful change requires both compassion AND accountability.
Additional Questions, click Here
