Hello, I’m Mark.
I’m a psychotherapist, counselor, and Licensed Clinical Social Worker. You might also think of me as a person to support you on your journey or help you grow into the person you want to be.
I support people who wish to grow or change some aspect of their life, but often aren’t certain where to start or what the best approaches may be. For some people, they may be experiencing anxiety, depression, or simply a sense that something is “off” or not as good as it should be. Oftentimes I work with people who have experienced a particular concern or incident that initiates therapy, but through the process of working together, I am frequently privileged to see growth and change in all dimensions of a person’s life.
I believe it is important for a therapist not only to help a person work through emotions, thoughts, or beliefs that are causing distress, but also to help them dig deeper to understand the cause. As a result, I tend to use a large amount of mental health education, explaining various theories of the mind and what they can teach us about our internal lives.
I know from my own journey that it is important to be aware of myself, not only my places of suffering, but of areas where I excel and of my character strengths. As a result, I encourage self-awareness, not only through education, but through learning about our own strengths and personality types. I believe the more we know about ourselves, the better we can predict how we will respond to stress and become the person we want to be.
I practice an eclectic approach to therapy, meaning I use many different approaches and theories. I draw heavily from dialectical behavior therapy, narrative therapy, and various family systems approaches, but may bring in other styles as well.
One theory I draw heavily from involves making use of character strengths and virtues. Some of my own strengths include judgement, perspective, humor, and honesty. I find myself using these strengths when I provide counseling, sometimes by helping clients to consider alternative viewpoints or by providing truthful feedback to clients experiencing self-doubt, or by allowing for humor in sessions.
I know that it can be hard to ask for help, but I believe that through the process of therapy, people can better manage their own personal growth as well as adapt to the challenges and struggles life throws at them. If you believe that this process is the right step for you, please reach out to us.
I work with adults (18 and older) only.
I have experience and training with the LGBTQ+ community and am affirming of sexual- and relationship-minority clients.
In addition to holding a Master of Social Work from Kennesaw State, I also have a Master of Divinity from Emory University and four units of Clinical Pastoral Education. I am an ordained minister and trained as an interfaith chaplain to work with people from all backgrounds on issues of spirituality and meaning-making.