FAQ

My office is in your home, your office, or maybe even your bedroom. Since I do everything online, it doesn’t matter where my office is. I am in Cumby, Texas, about 75 miles east and north of Dallas, Texas. Therefore, because of doing my work online, I am free to talk to people in Texas and Minnesota based upon my licensing as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in both states.

My office hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9 AM to my last session, which starts at 3:30 PM central time.

My sessions are typically between 50 minutes and one hour long. Usually, however, my “behind the scenes” work reviewing the notes or your homework takes me longer so that I might provide you with the best possible service.

You set up an appointment by giving me a call. Essentially, this phone call is what might be called a preview interview. What I mean by this is that you get to ask me questions and explore what I’m all about. No question is out of bounds. Asking questions allows you to “sample” what I am like and gives you some opportunity for comfortability. We will negotiate the time and day together.

My cancellation policy is that I require 24 hours’ notice before missing a session, or I will charge the full fee. However, I do not charge anything if someone is sick or has an emergency. I do not want to be difficult; I want to serve everyone. I want people to realize that this is my practice/business and that I deserve the same treatment they wish in their business.

Yes, there is paperwork to complete before the session, and you will accomplish this online.

I typically work with anyone from young adults to senior citizens. I work with women, men, and couples, as well as families, even extended families.

I prefer to work with clients who are very serious about their problems and willing to make significant commitments to daily work and change their lives in deeper places. These clients are often Christians who are serious about their faith and those who recognize that there is a God and are interested in following His commands and His will. Often, these people will be curious about what the Bible (word of God) says and want to be obedient to that.

The first session is somewhat of a “getting to know you” session.

Typically, I will explain the “ground rules” of what will occur. I will be forthright (i.e., not put lipstick on a pig) and direct, but will do so out of kindness and respect. I will also explain that I want you to be open and direct.

Typically, I will invite you to ask me whatever questions you might have and explore your questions to your satisfaction. Additionally, we will review your intake paperwork thoroughly. Finally, you will receive some homework to continue gaining momentum between sessions.

Our therapy will typically be highly interactive. Since Proverbs 18:13 says: “He who gives an answer before he hears it is folly and shame and to him,” my commitment will be to understand what you are saying to your satisfaction.

I intend to make every session meaningful as well as enjoyable. Since therapy sometimes deals with “heavy” things, we will take “mini-breaks,” which might be only a quick moment of humor.

My big idea is to work myself out of a job so that your therapy will be heavily dependent on the work that you do between sessions. Yes, I give homework!

My therapy is different from others in that I do not subscribe to many of the “psychological” principles but rely heavily on God’s truth from the Bible. I firmly believe in the adage: “Rules are many. Principals are few. Rules change. Principles never do!”

Very importantly, I teach people how to change their thinking to change their lives. There will be exercises followed up by discussions about what you’ve learned and what needs to be changed. I am not interested in exclusively teaching you what to do, but I am more interested in the HOW of change.

Yes, one of the surprises will be that, though we talk online, you will also be able to keep track of me through the session as I very actively use and share a whiteboard to take notes so that you can see the progression of the session as we go and even be able to review in session what we have already talked about. Finally, these notes and any reviewed scriptures will be sent home to you along with any homework. Receiving this information provides continuity between sessions and forms the basis for a quick review during our next session.

While I do not have a “one-size-fits-all” number of sessions to give you, my intention, as stated above, is to work myself out of a job by having you do the work and not be dependent upon me. That said, I will also give you tools and teach you how to use them so that you can build a foundation for success as we go and look back at these tools to deal with things by yourself or two of you in the case of a couple’s work.

No, I do not because they are above my pay grade.

I enjoy welding, studying the Bible, and making people laugh at stupid jokes.

Yes, you are allowed to ask personal questions. Just be careful what you ask. You might be surprised!

I once helped a suicidal young man come down from high up in a tree at dusk. He had been reluctant to come down with multiple efforts before I arrived. I got him down from the tree by getting him to swap jokes until he came to a point where he asked me if he could come out of the tree to share jokes more effectively.

I am 3 feet 32 inches tall. As Lincoln once said: “I’m tall enough to reach the floor”

I think it is a toss-up between pizza and chocolate muffins from Costco.

I like action movies, mysteries, sports movies, movies about horses, and with my wife, sometimes sentimental romance movies. Don’t tell anyone, but movies sometimes leave me with tears. I’m the sentimental type.

Years ago Timex watch company did commercials where they would put their watches to torturous tests. Having survived the test the announcer would declare: “It takes a licking and keeps on ticking.”

During that time I managed in the dark to choose the wrong door and ended up bouncing down the wooden stairs and slammed into the door below. As the family came to check on what the ruckus was about, I stood up, pointed to my watch and declared: “It takes a licking and keeps on ticking.” I thought it was funny at the time, but the family was rather disappointed in me for waking them up.