Ryan’s background and personal life

How did you decide to become a therapist?

Several years ago I was in very serious car accident. I was diagnosed with PTSD, along with multiple tears in my rotator cuff and several herniated discs in my back. I felt depressed, anxious, overwhelmed and on the brink of feeling hopeless. Desperate for help and with no where else to go for support, I booked a session with a counselor. She really helped me understand my PTSD and how it was contributing to my feelings of anxiety and overwhelm. After some time, and the help of 2 great counselors, I finally was able to find relief from my PTSD symptoms.

Somewhere along my own healing journey, I made a promise to myself. I said "if I can come out of this and be free of the PTSD diagnosis, which was controlling my life, I would spend the rest of my life dedicated to helping others with their mental health." I am now humbled and grateful to be living out that promise I made to myself, by helping others with the work I do as a counselor.

The car accident led to some of the most difficult times of my life, but healing from the car accident led me to some of the most beautiful moments of growth in my life. I feel humbled and honored to help facilitate healing in other people's lives in the same way it was done for me.

What was your previous work before going into private practice?

I worked for over a decade in the health and wellness industry. What I realized is that just changing the body isn't enough to create last changing. The change in our mind is equally important for creating sustainable positive changes in our life. This also includes the internal view we have of ourselves, or our 'self-image.'

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

I enjoy meditating and exercising.

Ryan’s specialties and therapy philosophies

What guiding principles inform your work?

As human beings, I believe we all share common, fundamental needs. We have a desire to be seen, heard, and cared about. It is my humble honor to hold space for the individuals that I work with, free of judgement, so that they can feel seen, heard, and know that they are cared about.

What are identified as 'symptoms' or our 'faults' are merely learned behaviors or emotional patterns that we have adopted, in order to have our needs met. These adaptations may not be healthy, but they are usually all we know.

I believe that when we can grasp this at a fundamental level, the way we act with each other as human beings changes in a dynamically beautiful way. This is the perspective I bring to counseling.

What clientele do you work with most frequently?

I have found that Individuals who have suffered trauma are most often drawn to connecting and working with me. These individuals are usually adults, and are both male and female. I have profound empathy for individuals that have experienced trauma, as I have gone through my own healing journey surround childhood and adult trauma. They may feel helpless or hopeless, and appreciate my ability to understand a bit about the effects trauma has on our mind and body.

Can you tell us more about your specialty in anxiety?

The root cause of anxiety is fear. This can be fear of many different things depending on the context, but it usually boils down to the fear of not being seen, heard, or loved. As I work with individuals on releasing this fear, it starts by realizing that everyone is fundamentally deserving of love, and that the most important love is self-love.

Can you tell us more about your specialty in trauma?

There is a difference between traumatic events and trauma. Traumatic events are what happen externally. Trauma, is what happens internally. This is why multiple people can experience the same traumatic even, but each one may experience the trauma from the event differently. I work with individuals to identify the root cause of their trauma. From there we look at how it has and is impacting them. The next step is to begin to release the trauma energy that they have been carrying around with them in a safe and healing way.

Can you tell us more about your work with clients navigating major life transitions?

Life can be hard. Life also has seasons or cycles. As difficult as some seasons or cycles can be, these are all part of the human experience. I have not met one person who has been able to escape these cycles of life. Just as a plant goes through different seasons and is able to continue to grow and develop, I help individuals transition through different seasons or cycles in their life.

What do you find most rewarding about your work?

When the individual I am working with realizes that greatness exists inside of them and they reconnect to that greatness through their own healing and inner work.