Say hello to our new guidance counselor

Q: Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?

A: Professionally I am a trained therapist with a social work background. I specialize in trauma, youth with sexually maladaptive behaviors, substance use, and youth with emotional distress. Personally I am a goofy guy who likes a variety of things. I like to play and have fun with people whether through board games, video games, or my favorite sport ultimate frisbee. I like to move and I like to be with people. 

Q: Can you tell me a little bit about what you and your wife do at DHS? For example, What kind of counselors are you, what can you do to help students who may be struggling?

A: My wife and I are both trained therapists with a similar work history. Her background is psychology while I majored in social work. We both started working with kids ages 3-18 in the foster care system and then moved on to youth in foster care and in the correctional system. We have both seen a lot in our time as professionals, and we are hoping to bring that experience to the school to support the teachers, students, and parents. A student can come to use at any time for a variety of reasons. We offer confidentiality where what you say to us stays with us except for 3 topics including harm to self, harm to others, and abuse a student may be experiencing from others. No matter if you’re experiencing long term mental health needs, or just having a bad day you can come to our office and share what you feel comfortable talking about knowing that it won’t leave our doors. If you want to make a change in your life, but don’t know how to start, we can help with that. If you need support or resources due to a hard time, we will help with that.

Q: What influenced you to be a school counselor?

A: I took my first psychology course in high school and it just clicked with me. It came naturally and I knew that I wanted to do therapy. The idea of helping others with a method I was good at made sense to me.

Q: What practical experiences have you had to make you feel capable to be a school counselor?

A: I think my experience working with a variety of client’s has set me up for this job. I have seen horrible situations that could make you sick to your stomach, and I have worked in those same situations and watched them improve. Mrs. Thomas and I have both been through the grinder in this field of work and we are stronger for it and have a lot of ways we can help people no matter what their needs are.

Q: What do you see as the main role of a school counselor?

A: I think the main role of a counselor is to support and encourage the students of the school in order to promote their success.

Q: What do you think is the most important characteristic of a school counselor?

A: I think that it is essential for a counselor to have empathy with the students along with effective listening skills.

Q: What do you see in our school that you would consider a strength?

A: Our school has amazing staff that support the youth through clubs, activities, and a trusted adults who pay attention to the students.

Q: What makes you want to work at DHS?

A: On an individual level I’ve spent a lot of time working with youth who were in the correctional and foster systems, and I want to opportunity to work with youth before they enter the system. I also really enjoy the idea of supporting and developing programs that will serve youth in the school setting.

Q: What is something new that you could bring into our school?

A: I hope that I bring a unique perspective from the mental health side of life that can benefit everyone I come in contact with.

Q: What does school counseling mean to you?

A: Truthfully I never used my school counselor when I was in high school. Looking back on it now, there were times where an outside perspective from a counselor would have come in handy and saved me some awkward moments.