I grew up, got married, and started a family in Spartanburg, S.C. Soon after the birth of our first child, I started a doctorate in counselor education at Texas A & M University- Commerce. After earning my doctorate, I taught at a university in Arkansas. After that, I moved to Asheville in 1997 with my wife and two daughters. I joined the faculty of a local college, teaching courses in psychology and counseling. At the same time, I started my private practice in Asheville. Soon thereafter, I began to research and write about my two favorite topics: marriage and contemplative prayer.

Soon after coming to Asheville, I procured my license as a North Carolina Marriage and Family Therapist. Because of my passion for marriage, I eventually decided to specialize in the counseling of couples. My desire to do good work led me to seek training in emotionally focused therapy (EFT). After rigorous training, I became a certified EFT therapist. I am one of only seven certified EFT therapists in Asheville.

My interest in contemplative practices was spawned by completing a program in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Seeing the benefits of mindfulness, I felt compelled to do two things. First, wondering if there was a Christian contemplative practice, I discovered and began to practice Centering Prayer. Second, I wanted to find a way to integrate contemplative practices—both mindfulness and Centering Prayer—into my practice of counseling.

My passion for marriage, counseling, and contemplation has led me to write four books over the past eight years: Mind Over Marriage (2013), The Three Minds of Marriage (2017), Contemplation and Counseling (2019), Centering Prayer: A Contemplative Path to Virtuous Living (2021).

I feel very fortunate. As a professional, I am rewarded by my work as a therapist, author, and educator. I love the time I spend with God in contemplative prayer, with my clients in therapy and workshops, and with my wife, children, and friends in special celebrations and events.

Of course, my life is not all rosy. I struggle with my own painful emotions, negative thoughts, and physical ailments. Sometimes, others let me down, and of course, I do the same to them. But, it is good to know that I am accepted by my clients, God, my family, and friends.

Isn’t that the human experience? Both joy and hurt, love and pain. It is good to be part of the human family. We all fall short but we can support one another in our goal to grow and become the person that we are. I want to do that with the people I am blessed to work with. I have found that they do the same for me.

Guiding Principles:

  • There are six principles that guide my approach to counseling. My work is:
  • Goal-oriented: Support is provided for the goals that you set for yourself.
  • Emotion-focused: Attention is given to your awareness, deepening, and expression of appropriate expression of emotions.
  • Narrative-based: We concentrate on the meaning that you make out of the experiences of your life.
  • Experientially-centered: Sessions become opportunities to identify old patterns of feeling, thinking, and interacting and try out new ways of being.
  • Spiritually-sensitive: Your spiritual beliefs and practices are valued and utilized as resources for building satisfying lives.
  • Contemplative-based: Settling into silence helps you observe and change the emotional and narrative functions of your mind.

Assumptions About Effective Therapy:

For counseling to be effective, I believe that the counselor and client must create a strong alliance. To establish this alliance, I think three things must happen. First, the client must view the counselor as warm and supportive. Second, the counselor must share the client’s goals (and these goals must be important to the client). Finally, the activities of counseling sessions must be relevant and helpful to the client.