“My path to become a therapist was not a straight road; it took many twists and curves along the way. Those experiences have shaped much of how I view others’ personal journeys. I am committed to helping individuals and families heal from trauma, navigate difficult emotions, and build healthier relationships. My approach focuses on creating a safe, supportive environment where clients can work through challenges and grow at their own pace.”
T.C. prioritizes creating a comfortable, emotionally safe space for clients to feel heard and validated so they can begin the work of healing and personal growth. He emphasizes a strength-based perspective, as well as a dual focus on validating clients’ experiences and difficulties, while simultaneously helping them identify how they can grow and improve. T.C. utilizes experiential therapy, play therapy, superhero therapy, and integrates art, mindfulness, and other creative activities in addition to dyadic work.
T.C. is trained in trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT), the intergenerational trauma model (ITTM), dialectical behavior therapy for adolescents (DBT-A), cognitive processing therapy (CPT). He also uses experiential therapy, play therapy, motivational interviewing (MI), and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in treatment.
In working with T.C., clients can expect to collaborate on creating goals that are meaningful for them, and T.C. helping create a plan to get them there, with measurable outcomes. What an individual session may look like will vary based on age, needs, functioning, and goals. Some possibilities may involve a client determining the focus of an individual session and exploration through discussion of that topic; engaging in specific games or activities and reflecting on the experience; it may involve learning coping skills specific to a client’s identified symptoms or challenges. However, whatever the form of the session, clients can expect to learn about, explore and gain greater understanding of their emotions, thoughts and behaviors and how these impact their relationships not only with others, but also with themselves. Clients are encouraged to share their perspectives, experiences and actively participate in sessions. Parents of children or adolescent clients are encouraged to share updates, concerns and progress in and outside of sessions, and are welcome to join sessions if they or the client wants them to and/or schedule parent sessions to discuss concerns without the client present, as well as parenting support and strategies.
T.C. is a fully licensed clinical social worker (LMSW) with extensive experience working with children, adolescents, young adults, and families in individual, family, and group therapy settings. He joined the team in 2022 and specializes in treating trauma, child behavior issues, including those related to Autism and ADHD, as well as mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. He also assists the testing team with ASD evaluations. He is nationally certified in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), both as Therapist and as a TF-CBT Supervisor. He is also currently a faculty member at MSU’s School of Social Work in their Evidence Based Trauma Treatment (EBTT) program.