We began this program back in March of 2023, and I thought I’d take this opportunity for a re-introduction.
I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor (#64576) here in North Texas, and I’ve been seeing patients since 2008. I’m also a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor (#12813). I’m married to “the lovely Miss Renee,” as we affectionately call her. Our blended family includes three young adult children.
Being dually licensed allows me to work with a variety of presenting issues. It’s rewarding work, and the upsides of this career continue to reveal themselves.
My longest continuous employment so far was in a law enforcement setting. My decade there fell into two categories: assessing people for drug or alcohol problems, and providing treatment for people who needed it. I’ve also worked in rehabs and private practices. I spent years running support groups for people with Major Depressive Disorder and Bipolar Disorder. I now own and operate a private practice, seeing patients in a facility called Studio 505.
Parents Living After Child Estrangement began out of personal need. In March of this year, I hit my lowest point, and I sought help. I combed through counselor bios, support group descriptions and every other source I could think of and turned up nothing.
I so I decided to do it myself. I’ve created a variety of programs from the ground up before, and simply turned to what I know. While working for law enforcement, I had the freedom to create and manage programs independently. That experience was useful in getting PLACE up and running. I consulted with a small team to lay the foundation for this community, and went live in March 2023.
I love peer support groups, and doing this makes sense for so many reasons. For starters, in my capacity as PLACE founder and group moderator, being a counselor is basically a bonus. Anyone can run a peer support group. This means being in PLACE doesn’t make a participant my patient, and with that being the case, the program isn’t bound by geography or license reciprocity.
And make no mistake: Renee and I benefit from the meetings as well. What you bring to PLACE is what I’ve come to call “expensive knowledge”. That is, what you know and can share costs a lot, and not just anyone has it. This lends to a capacity for empathy that is invaluable.
I thank every person who has participated for what you bring to this PLACE.
