Training staff

Role: Training Director, Assistant Lead Clinician
Seminar: Cohort Supervision and Supervision of Supervision

I grew up living the life of a nomad for the first half of my youth; as the son of a pastor relocation was a common occurrence. During my adult years frequent moves have been sparked by my pursuit of education, training, and work opportunities in the field of psychology. Over the years I have come to enjoy both the seasons of transition and change, as well as stability and consistency we all encounter to varying degrees throughout our lives. It is my belief that opportunities for meaningful growth and rewarding experiences abound during the ever unfolding beginnings and endings that comprise our life journeys. My own experiences with frequent moves as both a child and adult, and embedded in an interpersonal context, have shaped who I am and how I view and engage in the important life roles I assume, including psychologist.

My training and academic preparation began at Friends University where I completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Service Psychology. Following my time at Friends I went on to compete a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology at the University of Kansas. I subsequently worked for five years as a staff therapist and, eventually, clinical director at a residential facility for male, adolescent, juvenile offenders where I provided assessment and therapy services to residents and their families, oversaw the clinical program, and supervised marriage and family therapy practicum students. During that time I also served as an adjunct professor at Friends University. I continued my graduate training at George Fox University where I earned a master’s and doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology. My postdoctoral residency was completed at Hazelden, now Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, an inpatient addictions treatment center located in Oregon. I returned to Kansas in 2013 where I obtained licensure as a psychologist and began work as a full time independent contractor for a counseling center in Manhattan providing therapy and assessment services to residents of Manhattan and surrounding communities. I joined the K-State Counseling and Psychological Services Team as a staff psychologist in August of 2017. One of the great appeals of the K-State CAPS program was the opportunity to be a part of the training of future psychologists, a strong professional interest of mine. Other draws for me included the chance to work in a university setting and as a part of a multidisciplinary team serving a diverse student population. My research and clinical interests include clergy mental health, trauma and addiction, the integration of spirituality into mental health care, mindfulness, clinical training, domestic violence/interpersonal trauma, and body image issues in males.

I think about supervision as a collaborative endeavor in which both supervisor and supervisee work to identify individual training goals/needs and establish a plan for meeting those goals/needs. My approach is integrative in that it is informed by developmental, competency, and psychotherapy based models of supervision with an emphasis on establishing a strong/supportive working alliance with the supervisee.

My approach to therapy is grounded in both Cognitive Behavioral, Emotion Focused, and Interpersonal process principles and techniques. Identifying and altering patterns of thinking, behavior, relating (to self/others), and coping is a primary focus of treatment. Additionally, I frequently incorporate mindfulness based and solution focused interventions into the therapy.

Role: Staff Psychologist, Assessment Seminar Leader and Assessment Coordinator

Pronouns: she/her

Education:
Bachelor of Science in Rehabilitation and Human Services with a minor in Psychology (2016): University of North Dakota
Master of Arts in Counseling (2018): University of North Dakota
Doctor of Philosophy in Counseling Psychology (2022): University of North Dakota
APA-accredited doctoral internship at Kansas State University
Post-doctoral residency at Kansas State University

Theoretical Orientation/Professional Interests: I provide psychotherapy, with particular interest in helping students with identity, family, anxiety, sexuality, gender, ADHD, and/or interpersonal relationship concerns. I function within an integrative framework combining interpersonal psychotherapy with trauma-informed and culturally sensitive practices, including techniques from CBT, solution-focused, and emotion-focused therapies. I focus on the therapeutic relationship and modeling a culture of respect, genuineness, authenticity, collaboration, and safety. I tailor my treatment approach to the unique individual and their specific concerns and goals. I provide individual therapy and ADHD evaluations, consultation, workshops, and outreach.

Personal Interests: Outside of clinical practice, I enjoy golf, traveling, reality TV, and spending time with my partner, friends, family, and two dogs.

Role: Therapist and Groups Program Coordinator
Seminar: Group Seminar and Supervisor

Education:
M.S. Family Studies and Human Services, Kansas State University, 2012 Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist, State of Kansas Board approved Supervisor completing my AAMFT Board Approved Supervisor designation.

Pronouns in Use: she/her

I provide individual, group, and couple therapy to undergraduate and graduate students. I also coordinate our groups program and run a group therapy seminar for our Psychology PhD. interns.

Theoretical Style: My work can best be described as an integrative approach that centers on process-orientated interventions. I work from a strengths-based, trauma-informed, anti-racist, LGBTQIA+ affirming lens. A lot of what guides my work are models such as Internal Family Systems, ACT, and Solution Focused. I also integrate elements of CBT.

Professional Interests: I have a primary focus on group therapy. Other areas of clinical interest include LGBTQ individuals/couples, gender identity, anxiety, depression, and OCD.

Personal Interests: Originally from Texas, I moved to Kansas at a young age and have spent the majority of my life here in the Midwest. I enjoy traveling, spending time outside in nature, and playing with my dog.

Role: Staff Psychologist
Seminar: Diversity Seminar and Supervisor

Pronouns: she/her

Education:
B.A. (Psychology and English): University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN)
M.A. (Clinical Psychology): Adelphi University (New York, NY)
Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology): Adelphi University (New York, NY)
Internship and Postdoc: Kansas State University, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)

Therapeutic Orientation: I consider myself an integrative clinician, and my approach to therapy is twofold: to help clients build insight into their internal world, and to use that insight to empower clients to live their lives openly, authentically, and with purpose. I incorporate elements of various therapeutic approaches to meet the needs of each client, including humanistic, psychodynamic, interpersonal, emotion-focused, existential, dialectical-behavioral, cognitive-behavioral, and solution-focused therapies.

Professional Interests: At CAPS, I conduct individual therapy, group therapy, psychoeducational workshops, and ADHD assessments for K-State students. I am also a member of the training team for psychology interns, providing clinical supervision and co-facilitating the diversity seminar. As a member of the LBGTQ+ community, I am particularly invested in working with LGBTQ+ clients with a variety of presenting concerns, including anxiety, depression, self-harm, internalized homophobia, religious trauma, coming out, and transitioning.

Personal Interests: In my free time, I enjoy playing indie video games, doing occasional obstacle course/mud run, and playing piano. You can usually find me relaxing at home with my two cats, Bun and Pan.

Role: Staff Psychotherapist
Seminar: Diversity Seminar and Supervisor

Education:
BS: Martin Methodist College, Behavioral Science
MS: Kansas State University - Marriage and Family Therapy
PhD: Kansas State University - Marriage and Family Therapy
Post Doc: Kansas State University - Marriage and Family Therapy

Therapeutic Orientation: I am a bilingual (Spanish and English) eclectic therapist who highly values the quality of the therapeutic alliance. I practice trauma-informed therapy and I usually utilize skills from CBT and ACT to help clients cope with current difficulties. In addition, I am a leader of one of the workshops on interpersonal relationships and coleader of some of the therapy groups such as Calming the Storm. I also see distressed couples and couples wanting premarital counseling.