Practice Philosophy:
Most of the anxiety and depression many people experience is the result of blocked energy and impulses. We unconsciously defend against the impulse to be intimate, close, or sexual, the impulse to be angry, the impulse to flee, and many other feelings, such as vulnerability, tenderness, hurt, sadness, and loss. The psychotherapy process helps people to bring their feelings into awareness, and to have compassion for these feelings, allowing them to "own" them to themselves and others. In therapy people integrate the many aspects of themselves so that they feel more whole and authentic. Over time this knowledge unleashes a lot of energy which permits people to actualize much more of their potential.
Many conflicted feelings are best studied in people's relationships with others. As we focus on these relationships we often see how these conflicts are a replay of childhood dynamics and how these same conflicts get played out with me. Through this process, successful therapy not only relieves symptoms such as anxiety and depression, but greatly improves people’s relationships with themselves and others.
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Specialties:
Relationship Issues and Group Therapy
Because the best way to understand people's feelings is by examining relationships, that is the major focus of my work. By far the most powerful way of engaging in this process is group psychotherapy. Most of the people I see eventually (after one to ten months of individual psychotherapy) end up joining a group, where they can experience and understand how they defend against many feelings in the present moment. These feelings are explored with others who are feeling similarly in a climate of curiosity and tolerance.
Typically individuals in my groups stay for at least a year, permitting members to develop norms which facilitate self-exploration and growth. Members learn to better identify and express their feeling, and to have more fulfilling relationships. Most also report that they are more effective at work, that their friendships are deeper, and that they are better spouses and parents.
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Background:
I was an English major at Carleton College, where I played on the freshman basketball team and the varsity tennis team. I am still very interested in sports, playing tennis several times a week, hiking in Colorado in the summer, and skiing in the winter.
After college I went to Harvard Divinity School for one year on a Rockefeller Fellowship. I then attended the University of Texas on an NDEA Fellowship and received my Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology in l971. For four summers toward the end of graduate school and the beginning of my time as a professor, my wife (Sydnor) and I started and ran a backpacking camp in Colorado for adolescents where we did encounter groups, yoga, meditation, and other personal growth experiences in the mountains of Colorado.
The first part of my career was teaching psychology at Texas State University, where I became an Associate Professor. I taught undergraduate courses such as group process, abnormal psychology and human sexuality and relationships, as well as graduate courses in group process. While a professor, I began my private practice. My practice became full-time in the early l980's. In the mid l980's I helped start the Austin Group Psychotherapy Society and became its second president. I have led many workshops in Austin and around the country to train psychotherapists to lead groups.
Please contact me if you would like to ask any questions about my practice or to schedule an appointment.
508 Deep Eddy Avenue
Austin, TX 78703
512-469-0888
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