I am a clinical psychologist, certified Imago Relationship Therapist and Consultant, and Level 2 Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist in private practice in West Los Angeles. For more than 25 years, I have had the privilege of working with individuals, couples, and families who are seeking healing, deeper connection, and a more integrated sense of self.
My work lives at the intersection of relationships, inner emotional life, and spirituality. Whether I am working with couples in distress, individuals struggling with anxiety or trauma, or participants in retreats exploring the integration of psychology and faith, my aim is to create a grounded, compassionate space where meaningful change can occur.
Over time, my work has organized itself around three primary areas: helping couples build strong and conscious relationships, helping individuals develop a compassionate relationship with their inner world, and integrating psychological healing with contemplative spirituality.
One of the central focuses of my practice is helping couples build stronger, more connected relationships.
In 2008, I became a Certified Imago Relationship Therapist, a model developed by Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt that helps couples move from conflict and reactivity into understanding and connection. I also serve as an Imago Consultant, providing consultation and training for other therapists in this approach.
In my clinical work, I provide couples therapy, premarital counseling, and relationship education. Through marriage preparation programs at St. Monica Catholic Church and other communities, I have had the privilege of accompanying more than 2,000 engaged couples as they prepare for marriage.
To support couples more broadly, I developed The Foundation Workshop: Wisdom and Tools to Build a Conscious Marriage, which I continue to offer several times a year. This work is focused on helping couples build practical skills for communication, repair, and emotional connection.
I also lead weekend marriage retreats, creating sacred space for couples to step away from daily life and deepen their connection. Through teaching, dialogue, and reflection, these retreats invite couples to strengthen both their relationship and their shared life together.
In addition to direct clinical work, I have facilitated a monthly consultation group for Imago therapists since 2019, supporting clinicians in deepening their effectiveness with couples and relationships.
Relationships remain one of the most meaningful contexts for human growth, and I am continually moved by the ways couples can transform conflict into understanding when given the right tools and support.
Another major focus of my work is helping individuals develop a more compassionate and integrated relationship with their inner emotional world.
In 2020 and 2021, I completed advanced training in Internal Family Systems (IFS), an evidence-based model developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz. I am currently a Level 2 IFS therapist and integrate this approach into both psychotherapy and educational settings.
IFS offers a framework for understanding the mind as comprised of different “parts,” each carrying emotions, beliefs, and protective strategies, alongside a core Self characterized by calm, clarity, curiosity, and compassion.
In practice, this work supports individuals in working with anxiety, depression, trauma, self-criticism, relational wounds, and long-standing emotional patterns. IFS provides a way of relating to internal experience that is non-pathologizing and deeply compassionate.
This model has become a central part of my clinical work because it helps people move from internal conflict toward greater self-understanding, emotional balance, and healing.
A long-standing dimension of my work is the integration of psychology and spirituality.
I have been actively involved at St. Monica Catholic Church in Santa Monica for over 30 years, serving in various leadership and ministry roles, including as president of the Parish Council. Within this community, I have facilitated retreats and programs focused on emotional healing, spiritual growth, and personal transformation.
I have led retreats for young adults, offered workshops on healing depression and anxiety, and participated in the FIRE program, completing the 19th annotation of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius over a nine-month process of guided spiritual formation.
Out of this integration of psychological and spiritual work, I founded Healing Your Soul, a ministry that brings together Internal Family Systems and contemplative spirituality. Through retreats, workshops, and monthly gatherings, this work creates space for people to engage both their psychological and spiritual lives in an integrated way.
I also founded First5 Ministry, which supports couples in the early years of marriage. While it is designed for newly married couples, the tools and principles are applicable to couples at any stage of life.
My path into psychology began long before private practice.
After completing my undergraduate studies at the University of Notre Dame, I spent a year living in community as a full-time volunteer with Covenant House Texas in Houston, working with homeless and runaway youth. That experience profoundly shaped my understanding of trauma, resilience, and the importance of human connection.
I later helped launch Covenant House California in Hollywood, where I worked for five years in supervisory roles. During this time, I completed my doctoral research on the impact of childhood trauma among homeless and runaway adolescents.
This work was later published as The Impact of Multiple Childhood Trauma on Homeless and Runaway Adolescents, which remains an enduring part of my professional identity. I also contributed to Street Children: A Guide to Effective Ministry with a chapter on counseling street youth.
These early experiences continue to inform my understanding of attachment, trauma, and the healing process.
I completed my APA-accredited internship at Pacific Clinics, where I received advanced training in working with individuals and families experiencing serious mental illness. I trained under Dr. Chris Amenson, former NAMI Psychologist of the Year.
My work in this area has included consultation with the UCLA PsychRehab Program under Dr. Robert Liberman, a pioneer in psychiatric rehabilitation.
I have served as a therapist and supervisor in community mental health settings, including Pacific Clinics and Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Services, where I worked in a crisis residential program.
I have also served on the board of Step Up on Second the advisory board for Daniel’s Place, supporting young adults and their families.
For over 25 years, I have presented How to Survive and Thrive with a Mentally Ill Relative, a widely attended educational series that has been filmed twice and viewed more than 100,000 times online. This work reflects my ongoing commitment to supporting families navigating serious mental illness.
Throughout my career, I have maintained a strong commitment to teaching, consultation, and public education.
I have provided training and consultation for organizations including the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), UCLA, Pacific Clinics Institute, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, California Family Court Services, the Occupational Therapy Association of California, the USC School of Social Work, and the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health.
I have also been a presenter at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, the nation’s largest Catholic gathering, as well as Theology on Tap and other programs throughout Southern California.
Whether speaking to clinicians, faith communities, couples, or the general public, I am passionate about translating psychological and relational principles into practical, accessible tools for growth and healing.
Outside of my professional work, I am deeply shaped by my life as a husband, father, and fellow traveler on the path of growth.
My wife, Jennie, and I have been married for more than 26 years, and together we have three children. These relationships continue to be some of my most important teachers.
I also believe that caring for ourselves—physically, emotionally, spiritually, and relationally—is an ongoing practice. To support my own well-being, I remain active through playing basketball and swimming each week. These activities help keep me grounded, energized, and connected to the importance of caring for both body and mind.
My spiritual life is equally important to me. Daily contemplative practice, prayer, and active involvement in my faith community continue to nourish and shape my life. They remind me that growth and healing are lifelong journeys and that we are all continually invited into greater awareness, compassion, and connection.
Like the people I work with, I am continually learning how to grow in awareness, compassion, and connection—in my relationships, my inner life, and my spiritual journey.
It is a privilege to accompany others as they seek healing, meaning, and wholeness in their own lives.
