My journey began, like many of you, with unintended trauma.  I am a child of an alcoholic war ‘hero’ who never found his way safely back home.  Safety would become my own preoccupation.  And overcoming a childhood of deep isolation.  Isolation became my teacher in life and taught me, first and foremost, that only intimate, sustained human connections can heal the effects of isolation. 

As I grew into adulthood, I learned that isolation is a pervasive human experience that affects all of us in ways we’re often not aware of.  Since becoming a clinical psychologist, I learned that isolation even pervades the field of mental health. Shame is commonly felt in the seeking of mental health services. Even therapists working independently or in clinics with daunting workloads, suffer from loneliness, burnout, and disconnection.