Individual Counseling - For Personal & Spiritual Growth
As a psychologist in private practice in the State of Connecticut for nearly 35 years I have specialized in the fields of developmental disabilities, forensics, and geriatrics, but none has been as rewarding as the work I do and have been doing the past 20 years as a clinician providing psychotherapy and counseling to countless adults and couples in the general community. Since the coronavirus I have added telehealth to my practice. Thirty-five years of private practice have been accompanied by the same number of years teaching at the university level complementing and enhancing my applied work as a clinician as has clinical practice done for teaching. My teaching and research interests have focused primarily on the areas of personality development and personality dysfunction and assessment.
A Focus On Personal And Spiritual Growth
While I no longer perform personality evaluations per se, much of my practice has been devoted to helping others identify and harness the strengths of their individual personality traits and talents to build successful lives founded on their values and personally held beliefs, ideals, and principles as well as how to put these into practice. We live in a relational world and our most important relationship begins with ourselves. Acceptance of our limitations, the topic of my doctoral research, constitutes the work necessary to reach our potentials because, paradoxically, it releases us from the burdens that impair our ability to grow. This is addressed by identifying the subconscious defenses that prevent us from establishing and achieving our goals and probing the causes for us to engage in repetitively destructive behaviors predicated on belief systems, values, and ideals that are inconsistent both with what is reasonably possible and who we truly are. The challenges of personal growth and self-esteem are explored through my writings and discussions followed in my blog and hosted television show programs on such topics, for example, as Ambition versus Acceptance, The Ugly Duckling Syndrome, The Zero Sum Game: Making Your Personality Work For You, Functional Autonomy: Building Character From Our Insecurities, The Two Faces of Shame, and Guilt: Our Sense of Responsibility to Others.
Personal growth culminates in spiritual development when by virtue of achieving our potentials we may reconcile all we endeavor to become through our talents and efforts within the confines of the grounding reality of life itself. The achievement of this reconciliation bestows upon us the opportunity to discern how this journey transcends our personal experience toward an appreciation for our sublime relationship to the infinite. I help patients achieve a spiritual sense of their lives by showing them how to appreciate all they have to offer and have achieved in life and to learn how to channel what purposes those talents may serve to the greater good, the interests of theirs and the lives of others, beyond the ego’s gratification. Finding connection to these purposes, therefore, is a spiritual journey originating from our sense of self whose unique arc should be guided by self-insight and appreciation for the potentials that our personality and other qualities offer us to the betterment of the world we live in. Spiritual development is explored in my titles that include The Pontius Pilate Dilemma: The Wisdom of Accepting the Limits of Responsibility, Spirituality as Empowerment, How Being Good to Ourselves Enhances Spiritual Development in Psychotherapy, and Joy and Happiness: What Is It and How to Find It.
Our relationships with ourselves extend naturally to our relationships with other people and in intimate relationships. Nowhere do we learn about ourselves more than through intimate relationships. I work with couples as well as individuals to help couples communicate more effectively, resolve conflicts (see my blog on The Ergotropic Complaint: Finding That Sweet Spot in Resolving Conflicts in Relationships), establish greater intimacy, and resolve the heartbreak of infidelity.
I also work with men of all ages to help them navigate the ambiguities and shifting standards that dictate men’s identities and behaviors. This includes mentoring young men (The Challenges of Being a Man in Today’s World Part I: Gender Roles, Politics, and Socialization, and #MeToo--How Has Sexual Harrassment Affected You? Are You a Victim or a Victimizer?) as well as exploring the adjustment to aging older men face as discussed in my blog, The Challenges of Being a Man in Today’s World Part II: Age, Health, and Mental Health.
My clinical practice also is devoted to helping people suffering from anxiety disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and phobias (see my blogs on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: What is it and How To Treat It and The House Arrest Syndrome), generalized anxiety and panic disorder, complex post-traumatic stress disorders, acute stress disorders, and depression and mood disorders, treated with meditative practice (see my blog on Autogenic Training), guided imagery, and cognitive-behavior therapy. I also work with people struggling with sexual addictions (Sexual Addiction: When Is Sex Healthy and When Is It Not?), anger management issues (Anger: How to Understand and Manage This Difficult Emotion), and procrastination (The Manana Syndrome: How to Overcome Procrastination).
While I no longer perform personality evaluations per se, much of my practice has been devoted to helping others identify and harness the strengths of their individual personality traits and talents to build successful lives founded on their values and personally held beliefs, ideals, and principles as well as how to put these into practice. We live in a relational world and our most important relationship begins with ourselves. Acceptance of our limitations, the topic of my doctoral research, constitutes the work necessary to reach our potentials because, paradoxically, it releases us from the burdens that impair our ability to grow. This is addressed by identifying the subconscious defenses that prevent us from establishing and achieving our goals and probing the causes for us to engage in repetitively destructive behaviors predicated on belief systems, values, and ideals that are inconsistent both with what is reasonably possible and who we truly are. The challenges of personal growth and self-esteem are explored through my writings and discussions followed in my blog and hosted television show programs on such topics, for example, as Ambition versus Acceptance, The Ugly Duckling Syndrome, The Zero Sum Game: Making Your Personality Work For You, Functional Autonomy: Building Character From Our Insecurities, The Two Faces of Shame, and Guilt: Our Sense of Responsibility to Others.
Personal growth culminates in spiritual development when by virtue of achieving our potentials we may reconcile all we endeavor to become through our talents and efforts within the confines of the grounding reality of life itself. The achievement of this reconciliation bestows upon us the opportunity to discern how this journey transcends our personal experience toward an appreciation for our sublime relationship to the infinite. I help patients achieve a spiritual sense of their lives by showing them how to appreciate all they have to offer and have achieved in life and to learn how to channel what purposes those talents may serve to the greater good, the interests of theirs and the lives of others, beyond the ego’s gratification. Finding connection to these purposes, therefore, is a spiritual journey originating from our sense of self whose unique arc should be guided by self-insight and appreciation for the potentials that our personality and other qualities offer us to the betterment of the world we live in. Spiritual development is explored in my titles that include The Pontius Pilate Dilemma: The Wisdom of Accepting the Limits of Responsibility, Spirituality as Empowerment, How Being Good to Ourselves Enhances Spiritual Development in Psychotherapy, and Joy and Happiness: What Is It and How to Find It.
Our relationships with ourselves extend naturally to our relationships with other people and in intimate relationships. Nowhere do we learn about ourselves more than through intimate relationships. I work with couples as well as individuals to help couples communicate more effectively, resolve conflicts (see my blog on The Ergotropic Complaint: Finding That Sweet Spot in Resolving Conflicts in Relationships), establish greater intimacy, and resolve the heartbreak of infidelity.
I also work with men of all ages to help them navigate the ambiguities and shifting standards that dictate men’s identities and behaviors. This includes mentoring young men (The Challenges of Being a Man in Today’s World Part I: Gender Roles, Politics, and Socialization, and #MeToo--How Has Sexual Harrassment Affected You? Are You a Victim or a Victimizer?) as well as exploring the adjustment to aging older men face as discussed in my blog, The Challenges of Being a Man in Today’s World Part II: Age, Health, and Mental Health.
My clinical practice also is devoted to helping people suffering from anxiety disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and phobias (see my blogs on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: What is it and How To Treat It and The House Arrest Syndrome), generalized anxiety and panic disorder, complex post-traumatic stress disorders, acute stress disorders, and depression and mood disorders, treated with meditative practice (see my blog on Autogenic Training), guided imagery, and cognitive-behavior therapy. I also work with people struggling with sexual addictions (Sexual Addiction: When Is Sex Healthy and When Is It Not?), anger management issues (Anger: How to Understand and Manage This Difficult Emotion), and procrastination (The Manana Syndrome: How to Overcome Procrastination).