bio

In 1969, graduated with a BA in Psychology. Being a therapist was the dream behind my University degree. The military draft had caught up with me, and soon was deployed to Viet Nam. Two years later, safely home from the war brought other realities of life. That dream of professional counselor would likely never happen. Over the next 40 years of “normal” (and some not) day-to-day living: countless experiences that I draw upon today. Some hard lessons had to be taught/learned several times before finding the answer (that “insanity” test—“repeating the same thing over and over again while expecting a different outcome”). All those years now behind me—was finally retired from work, but not from life. A true depression soon set in: What was my purpose? What was next? A friend suggested becoming a hospice volunteer. ??A depressed retiree interacting with dying and depressed people–seriously!!?? That seminal moment began in 2008 with a local hospice. Amazingly life-altering. The therapist “seeds” dormant all of those years, began to take root again. Was it possible to resurrect the dream? At age 64, enrollment at Texas State University as a full time student in the Master’s in Health Psychology Program was the scary first step. Wonderful young classmates helped carry me across the line. The Master’s program was followed by 3,000 supervised hours as an LPC-Intern. Throughout grad school and the LPC internship, my hospice volunteer work continued. In early 2015, CTMC hired me to run The Grief Center** in San Marcos, TX. While Grief is most often associated with death, factually every significant loss brings Grief into our lives. Hundreds of “clients” shared their many struggles of Grief around identity loss, job loss, relationship loss, pet loss, etc., as well as the death of a loved one or suicide. Because the Grief Center experience was bountiful, my time there was split while developing a private practice. Unfortunately, for now, the new hospice ownership has closed the Grief Center effective mid-2020. So, I have transitioned to a full time practice (which is likewise bountiful).

A few more minor details

**The Grief Center was a Christian faith-based entity in San Marcos, TX, operating as a free counseling resource, serving a number of nearby counties (Hays, Caldwell, Comal, Guadalupe, Travis). While religious in its calling to help others in need, the Grief Center was non-religious in its approach to those it served. Everyone was welcomed: poor, rich, all faiths, atheists, all races, LBGT, young, old, homeless—no one was turned away. The Grief Center was primarily about mental health. Referrals came from virtually every state and county agency, such as CPS, DPS, APS, Scheib Mental Health Center, and numerous schools: Individual Counseling, Family Counseling, Suicide, At-risk Children, School Counseling, and numerous Support Groups. Per Medicare, all hospices are required to have a chaplain on staff. To further develop my hospice skills, I completed certification in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), a chaplaincy program. The CPE training was more than 600 clinical and educational hours, working within a hospital setting. In addition to routine inpatient visits, the training necessarily included the immediacy of connecting to patients and their families around severe physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual trauma/pain (“Why has God done this to me?”). Over my 5+ years at CTMC Hospice, for more than two years, at various times, I served as the primary Hospice Chaplain as well as the secular Counselor at the Grief Center. I also served as an on-call chaplain at CTMC Hospital in San Marcos (now Christus Santa Rosa) for nearly 4 years. Chaplaincy is often associated with faith, but it is more rooted in encouraging an individual to connect with her/his spiritual self, not as a religious structure. It is not unlike every professional clinician—assisting the client in psychosocial, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and physical well-being. I’m comfortable with whatever counseling the client wishes.