David is trained as a marriage and family therapist, thus works with families and individuals experiencing relationship distress. David also works with children, teens, and young adults from a family systems perspective, with an emphasis on emotional intelligence. David has worked extensively with military personnel experiencing psychological and physical health challenges, providing individual and couples counseling. David treats people experiencing anxiety, depression, relationship distress, life adjustment difficulties, stress management, and mood disorders.
Education and Experience
David earned his Bachelor of Arts in Business Management from the University of Phoenix and his Master of Arts in Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. David has completed his academic requirements for his Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy from Capella University and is completing his internship hours at LifeLens. David is also completing his doctoral degree in Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. David served in the armed services for more than three decades where he became a non-commissioned officer and earned multiple medals and awards. David also served as a Health Care Specialist and provided mental health counseling to members of the military and trained other personnel as mental health counselors. In his civilian life, he serves on several boards, is a contributing author to several books, and founded and directs a mentoring program for boys and teens. David has been trained in a variety of treatment models pertaining to marriage and family therapy including Structural, Strategic, Transgenerational, Behavioral, Communication, and Analytical models. David utilizes the following approaches in his counseling approach: Play Therapy techniques for children), the Gottman Method for marriage and family therapy, IBCT (Integrative Behavioral Couples Therapy), Narrative Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Solution Focused Therapy in addition to integrating other modalities.
A Bit About David
David creates a safe environment for his clients to build trust and a strong therapeutic alliance. The focus of his treatment approach is on individual personal growth and emotional intelligence where one gains an understanding of one’s own emotional state and understanding the emotional state of others. David incorporates Solution Focused Therapy to assist in managing life challenges and relationships and achieve measurable change. David emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, self-management and emotional regulation as a means of achieving self-improvement. David can include a spiritual component in his counseling when requested.