Dear Prospective Client,

I'd simply like to take this time to introduce myself to you. I think to do so is important, not only because it gives me a chance to answer some questions you may have about me and my practice, but also because it may help you feel more comfortable if you were to contact me for professional help.

I grew up in Dayton, Ohio with my parents and 2 brothers. When I went to college, I studied music and literature and also minored in psychology.

After graduate school, I began teaching literature and composition at various colleges in New York City, NY. I enjoyed teaching very much, but I found myself being particularly interested in the students' personal lives. I came to realize that I wanted to do more than teach, I wanted to sit down with people, listen to them and try to help them. I saw that below our rancor and desperate actions, there lies something unspeakably tender and fragile crying out for salvation. It was a short time later that I met a psychologist who had founded a Catholic counseling agency. So I decided to began intensive studies with her for two years until she felt I was ready to begin seeing clients under her supervision. What I studied specifically was the work of Dr. Anna Terruwe and Dr. Conrad Baars, the founders of a psychotherapeutic treatment model based on the writings of Saint Thomas Aquinas (See www.conradbaars.com).

I became a Certified Counselor under the American Association of Family Counselors. I worked at the Catholic agency as a counselor and, eventually, became head supervisor under the founder. After four years, I decided to venture into private practice, establishing two offices: one in Manhattan and the other in Garden City, Long Island, NY. I worked in these offices for four more years, counseling individuals and couples as well as families.

Then an opportunity was offered to me for which I could never have anticipated or even hoped. I was offered the opportunity to live in Paris, France and work for an artistic, humanitarian agency called The Association of Edith Stein. It was an agency dedicated to promoting Christian culture in a country that had become disturbingly secular. It would be a chance for me to integrate my talents in that I would be able to teach and counsel as well as play music. However, there was a problem. The last thing I wanted to do was to have to leave my clients in the States. One factor that helped me make my decision was that I had already been counseling clients via telephone. Such a practice was not uncommon. Ever since I began counseling, many of our clients met with therapists over the phone. This occurred because some clients lived too far from our offices or because of work/family schedules that made it nearly impossible for clients to come and see us face to face. We at the agency found counseling by phone to be quite effective.

Finally, I came to see that what I was being offered was, indeed, a gift from God, and so I decided to move to Paris and to counsel my clients by phone and via Internet by computer-video web counseling and I continued to receive new clients from the USA, Europe and Canada as well.

Another beautiful thing occurred when, a couple of years into living in Paris, I began to feel a hunger to delve more deeply into the writings of Saint Thomas and into theology as a whole. I wanted this formation not only for my own personal enrichment, but also for the benefit of my clients. Accepted into the Catholic Institute of Paris, I began my studies which lasted six years. Finally, I graduated with what is called a License in Theology (This is tantamount in the U.S. to a Masters degree.). For my thesis I decided to explore Saint Thomas Aquinas' notion of creation in terms of certain principles laid out in Thomistic psychology. The paper is entitled: "Thomas Aquinas' Creation Theology in the Light of Affirmation".

I was grateful to God for His inspiration that allowed me to receive an honorable mention for the work. And I can say that the deeper understanding that I gained from my studies continues to help me in my work with clients in treating the difficulties they suffer.

My interest and studies in theology and, particularly, in St. Thomas Aquinas led me to something else I never anticipated. I began experiencing a growing desire to read books about Saint Dominic and his order. After some months of reflection and of conversations with a spiritual director, I decided to enter into the Dominican third order. I came to see that my sensibility was very Dominican in nature. I could really identify with the founder, with his call and his charisms (It also helped a little that Thomas Aquinas was a Dominican!). It was over 2 years ago that I took my vow.

Before I close this letter, I want to briefly mention something so as to avoid any confusion. I had lived and worked as a Certified Counselor in New York. However, the requirement to be licensed counselor is not applicable to me because I am no longer a resident of New York, nor of the United States. I live full-time in France, and my office is in France as well. (I also have an office in New York City.)

I have over 25 years of extensive counseling experience working with Adolescent and Adult Individuals, Married Couples and Families.

As for now, I continue to live in France where I work both as a counselor and as a professional musician. My status allows me to provide services by telephone and Internet by computer-video to those living in Europe and Canada, while I also continue to work with U.S. clients and am always glad to welcome new clients.

I'm happy to say that the clients I have who live in or near New York City have the chance to see me when I come back to visit the U.S. (normally twice a year).