John is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and has been providing therapeutic services for over thirty years. John's career experience includes many years as a wilderness therapist, psychiatric hospital clinician, and a clinician in the juvenile justice system. He also lived in Costa Rica for two years developing and directing an adventure therapy program for young adults. His many years of experience working with adolescents, young adults, and parents has shaped his knowledge and belief in the value of strong family systems. John's honest, direct, and relational approach helps him navigate complex family systems as well as work with complex young adults.

Education & Prior Work Experience

John obtained a BA in Psychology from Ohio State University and an MS in Clinical Counseling from the University of Dayton. He has been a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) since 1997 and has been doing therapy with a variety of populations for over thirty years.

John worked for nearly two decades in the juvenile justice system providing assessment and counseling services to adolescents and their families. He also worked in a psychiatric hospital setting and began working as a primary wilderness therapist in 2007. In the course of his career, John started and developed several young adult wilderness programs and also served as Clinical Director in multiple settings.

Strengths

John excels at getting to the core issue and quickly forming a trusting connection with his clients. John was adopted and excels at working with families and young adults confronted with grief, loss, attachment, and abandonment issues. He has a knack of finding ways to connect with those who may be more resistant to the treatment process. John is also very creative in his approach and often utilizes role play techniques to help facilitate the process. John has a good sense of when to challenge and when to support to bring about lasting change.

Interests

In John's spare time he loves to mountain bike, hike, snowboard, cross-country ski, skate ski, and play guitar. He is a musician on the side and has been in many bands over the years. He loves hiking with his dog and has enjoyed raising him from just 8 weeks old. John has guided biking trips all over the U.S. and was also the founder of a Mountain Bike club. He started a hiking club in Flagstaff and enjoys hiking every weekend with the club. He can frequently be seen riding his motorcycle seeking out a new adventure.