“I have always been someone who wants to know what’s really going on with the people around me. ‘Tell me the whole story. I want to know everything.’ Building the trust that helps someone open up is a sacred thing. I want the people I serve to feel understood, more hopeful and increasingly confident that they can change.”
Therapy should be a place to feel safe and be your true self. To this end, Ian works alongside clients to foster healing, growth and healthy relationships. He will gently guide the process, according to each client’s goals. When symptoms are overwhelming, Ian can take a more directive approach and create clear next steps for each session.
Ian is trained in cognitive behavioral therapies which offer practical skills for healthy coping and regaining a sense of peace. He also has experience with emotion-focused, existential and psychodynamic approaches which respect each client’s unique experience. Each therapeutic approach plays its part in strengthening the core self, the part of us that is capable of growth, self-compassion and hope. Ian’s clients can expect to explore their automatic responses in more depth, clarify beliefs about themselves (and others), learn new coping skills, work though painful experiences, practice more effective communication and see themselves in a new light.
Ian is a limited licensed psychologist (master’s level). He completed a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Columbia International University in Columbia, South Carolina. He then earned a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Western Michigan University. Ian has served the Grand Rapids community at the Pine Rest Christian Counseling Center since 2013.
