About Me
Experienced. Supportive.
Sometimes, I wish I could tell you that I lived the perfect life and have figured out how to help you have the perfect life. Other times, I wish I could tell you that I was a substance abuser who spent time incarcerated, got out, got clean, met a princess, and now I'm a multimillionaire after being "x" many years clean and sober. The truth is, I've lived a life that was anything but boring, complete with trauma from well-intending, loving parents who struggled with their own issues. I got married too young to a girl I thought I knew well. I incorrectly thought I had life figured out.
At my worst, I held multiple pastoral and ministry positions while working regular jobs that kept my wife and children living right around the poverty level for many years. I struggled with trauma from the last five years of living with my parents and how that affected my view of life and relationships. My marriage went to Hell in a hand basket six months after we were married. It was a living hell for the majority of the next twenty years. I developed unhealthy coping mechanisms and even addictive behaviors. Somewhere around our 19th year of marriage, we separated. I had lost my career in the medical field, I wasn't in the ministry, and I was poised to lose our home.
Fast forward ten years, and my wife and I are back together. We lost that house but now have a much smaller and more affordable home. We've experienced counseling, healing, and even more heartaches. We are still healing. We aren't in a perfect relationship, and our life hasn't had a storybook ending. Instead, we have learned how to survive, empathize, and be healed - and now I'm ready to help you experience the same!
Shortly after my wife and I got back together, we lost our big, beautiful house that we had built for us, and we ended up in a twenty year old single wide mobile home. We joined a small church around the corner from our home. When the pastor invited us to join a mid-week Bible study, we gladly agreed to do so. We showed up, and it turned out to be group therapy! I was ticked! We continued to go anyway because my wife realized it was great for her, and she thought it would be good for me. I hated it, but I attended for what felt like a year. When it was over, I didn't want it to stop because God had changed me drastically, and I didn't want to go back to the way I was before. So, I went back to school for the same type of counseling. Halfway through my Master's program, I realized I wasn't doing this for just my own good, because I couldn't shut up about what God had done in my life and was still doing. I realized I was there to learn how to help others experience the same success and joy I was experiencing.
I have since served as the president of the Board of Directors of a non-profit counseling center, introduced organizations to the process of becoming trauma-informed, started my own biblical counseling and life coaching practice, become the program manager of IOP programs at a counseling clinic, developed a 13-week course on seven spiritual life principles, taught this class regularly at different ministries, and written books about the seven spiritual life principles.
This is my story: from trauma, addictive behaviors, emotional issues, broken relationships, and poverty to the path of healing and a hopeful future. What's your story? Can you relate? Let me walk with you: we can navigate your new life together.
Why Me?
What sets me apart from most Biblical Counselors and Life Coaches is my level of education, my training and certifications, and a life story to validate my knowledge and abilities to help you.
When I came to Arizona at the age of 19, I had $60 in my pocket, no job, no transportation, no place to live, and no education. Today, I've been married 35 years, I have children and grandchildren, an education, and a rich work history. I have both prospered and lost nearly everything in my life. survived trauma, a rocky marriage at best, relationship issues, financial issues, severe self-image issues, spiritual crises, and more. I am a survivor, and I want to help you survive and thrive!
My Education
- BA in Religion and Ministry (2015), Luther Rice University
- MA in Biblical Counseling (2019),
Luther Rice College and Seminary
Additional Training
- Prepare / Enrich Facilitator
- Trauma Specialist - Individuals (2019), Udemy.com / Arizona Trauma Institute
- Trauma Specialist - Family Trauma (2019), Udemy.com / Arizona Trauma Institute
- Advanced Training in Treatment of Complex-PTSD (2020), Udemy.com / Arizona Trauma Institute
- Multiple CE classes and workshops related to the treatment of trauma, eating disorders, and various developmental issues
Certifications
- Licensed for Ministry (1996)
- Certified Prepare / Enrich Facilitator (2019-current)
- Certified Trauma Professional (2019-2020)
- Certified Family Trauma Professional (2019-2023)
- Ordained for ministry (2023)
Professional Memberships
- American Association of Christian Counselors (2018-present)
- International Association of Trauma Professionals (2019)
- National Association of Christian Ministers (2023)