MY BACKGROUND
Michael was first licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist in 1998 after earning his master's degree in counseling psychology from JFK University in 1992.
He has been involved in violence abatement and recovery efforts since 1975 and has worked in, non-profit, government agency, and private practice settings. There he became familiar with treating individuals suffering from the effects of rape, murder, physical and sexual child abuse, domestic violence, major injury accidents and combat stress as well as other, less commonly considered, critical incidents.
He is also experienced in helping people identify and shift habitual behaviors that interfere with the full enjoyment of their lives by increasing their range of responses to life situations and being better able to choose the appropriate response in the moment.
He has specific experience with veterans of conflicts from WWII to Iraq and Afghanistan, has several seasons of wild-land fire suppression experience and supported line officer efforts to start a peer support team in a law enforcement agency.
He uses the trauma focused tools because they work to alter the learned responses that do not serve us, whether the learning process was considered traumatic or not.
His professional memberships include:
- American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (www.aamft.org)
- Association of Traumatic Stress Specialists (www.atss.info)
- EMDR International Association (www.EMDRIA.org)
His current credentials are:
- Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Washington (LF60169631) and California (MFC34896)
- Certified Trauma Specialist with the Association for Traumatic Stress Specialists
- Certified EMDR Therapist with the EMDR International Association
- Certified Supervisor with the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (www.CAMFT.org)
- iRest Level 1 Teacher (www.irest.us)
Past credentials include:
- Certificate of specialized training in first responder issues (www.icisf.org)
- Certified domestic violence offender and victim counselor. (CA) (www.standagainstdv.org)
- Child sexual abuse counselor certification, (Giaretto Institute)