The short answer is that I work with shock and dissociative states ... including for people that don't know they have them or why they might be relevant! For more information ...

Following completion of medical school at the University of Kentucky (2005-2009), I trained in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (2009-2013) and later served as staff physician and then Chief of PM&R at Eisenhower Army Medical Center until 2017. During those seasons, I became interested in the question of why some people heal from intense or traumatic events, and others become disabled or stuck - physically, emotionally, mentally, or relationally.

I work to equip and assist clients in resolving shock and dissociation, no matter what the original cause, nor what the resultant issues and symptoms might be. From my own perspective, I view this as working to identify and mature or resolve immature or unresolved physical and relational feedback loops (often, but not always, fast acting survival loops). In some cases, I am teaching clients how to do this themselves (independently), and in other cases I am facilitating the process directly.

Depending on the context, that may be as simple as answering question and determining whether I can help someone (prior to formally working); it could involve teaching on general tools; or it might involve assisting a client in the use of those tools in the context of a particular goal or issue. Generally, it takes most cognitively organized adults around 2-4 hours to learn about how bonding and sensory perceptive issues can resolve. Independent, healthy adults in a stable environment can often take and implement this knowledge immediately after small amounts of practice and feedback. Those in a dependent or unstable state or environment may require additional assistance to restore confidence and independence, and to facilitate that process directly. During this time, most people (80-90%) find there are additional issues they had not previously identified (due to the dissociative state). Once these additional issues are identified, some people are already equipped to address them, and others require or prefer some additional, particularized assistance (whether from me or someone else).

Adult children, yes ... but young children and teenagers only if the parents are willing to have their own issues, understanding or connections to the situation brought up or confronted. Children are generally very easy to work with directly, but parents often need context and understanding for this work, so I work with parents to help them understand why certain things might be helpful, and then work with the child in a more streamlined format. Of the individuals that I work with, 80-90% of them have deeper issues than they initially presented to me as the problem, and for children those issues often include the parents' approach or understanding of the real issue. Additionally, many children struggle if their home or relationships are unstable, unpredictable or unloving (not at peace with God and each other) or unprotected, and so that may reflect a need for more mature leadership, presence, repentance, or wisdom by the father or mother. Often, behavioral problems in children are evidence of unresolved or unrecognized problems in the home and family. Because of this, I often focus on the changes needed in the parents or entire home, not just the child's behavior. For those who have adopted children from unstable homes or locations or who have a child with a unique experience (or physical or relational injury), there may be issues particular only to that child. These issues may or may not respond to "typical parenting". I do work with parents to understand and address these situations when needed.

I assist people with a wide-array of physical, emotional, and relational symptoms and situations. But my focus is generally on understanding the situation accurately and centers around restoring accurate perception and healthy feedback loops (resolving shock and dissociation, sensory perception and bonding issues). Sometimes this relates to physical issues and sometimes to emotional or cognitive issues. That being said, I am approached by people with a wide variety of symptoms (generally autonomically mediated when physical) and complaints and a wide variety of life experiences (mostly associated with either traumatic or life-altering events, or with formative periods of life). Generally, with appropriate care and resolution of the acute exposure or injury, people recover quickly and well from things like brain injuries, infections, mold exposure, environmental toxins, emotional injury, etc ... - so the people that I work with (who have not recovered) often have deeper issues (that they are unaware of or have normalized), which are being revealed through their lack of recovery from these events. For those who are not sure, I discuss it with them prior to deciding.

As part of moving away from clinical medicine, I no longer provide diagnostic, prescriptive, or prognostic services (i.e. practice clinical medicine) ... nor do I provide clinical counseling services. My focus is on educating and equipping people to identify and resolve shock and dissociation, physical and behavioral feedback loops, and other related issues ... no matter what the cause. You might say that I provide counsel and teaching ... but not "counseling" (clinical or otherwise). True counsel is distinct from clinical or therapeutic counseling. True counsel transcends any one discipline and is not about education only, but is actually about those with character (their own character), wisdom (about timing, prioritizing, etc ...), capacity (not overwhelmed by your issue), and practical knowledge or skill gained through formal or informal education in areas relevant to your issue ... linking these qualities with you and your issue and providing all of this in a way that seeks what is good for you and others, and that can be tested and proven true or false. Just as a good mechanic provides counsel on what to do for you and your car, and looks out for your interests, I do the same within my own areas of experience and expertise. Continuing the same analogy of a car mechanic ... you should not want counsel or professional help from anyone (mechanic, lawyer, me, a doctor, a clinical counselor or therapist, a spiritual authority) who is: - Lacking in character (dishonest, etc ...) - Lacking in wisdom or timing (didn't bother to tell you not to replace the alternator on a car that needed the whole engine overhauled) - Lacking in capacity (overwhelmed with work or by the fact that your transmission was failing) - Lacking in practical knowledge in the area relevant to you (didn't know how to fix a transmission or what your car symptoms meant) - Not looking out for your interests (predatory) - Fixing things that didn't help your actual problem Discerning accurately whether your needs overlap with my areas of expertise is why I take time to answer questions and hear context prior to someone making a decision on whether to work with me (and me with them!). Those who need clinical medical or counseling services are welcome to pursue them in parallel with what I can provide. Most people that I work with are needing to see some aspect of the bigger picture and tools related to survival states and behaviors, relational patterns, feedback loops, and dissociated or shock states. And then they pursue any specific traditional medical or counseling as needed and helpful in parallel with that. For specific questions about whether your particular issues might benefit from services that I do provide, please contact me directly.

No universal confidentiality should be presumed. If you have a question, you should ask. If you do not know or trust my character, judgment, or track record, then you should take that into consideration in your communications. If you are actively harming someone, I have a responsibility to rebuke you - in order to love and protect them, and to warn you from continuing in evil. If you do not take responsibility for your behavior, then in certain situations, I have a moral obligation to make issues known to the appropriate leaders so that others can be protected. I do not treat these situations or decisions lightly, and I seek to act with composure and not in a hasty manner. And I remain open to all reasonable questions. If evil is involved (either against you or by you), then the best thing you can do is acknowledge it, and seek God's help and the help of the appropriate secular or spiritual authorities (as long as they aren't the ones harming you and are actually seeking your good).

It is important to understand that shock and survival responses can occur: a) adjacent to other root-cause issues b) be themselves caused by other root-cause problems c) be themselves causing the perceived problem d) or not be relevant to the particular case Option A - a leg injury that includes both structural (injury to bone or ligament that may or may not need surgery) and survival responses (that may or may not need attention to resolve) Option B - someone with a nutritional deficiency or infection might be in a state of heightened physiologic stress (i.e. resolving the nutritional issue or infection might resolve the physiologic stress). The survival reflexes might or might not "auto-integrate". Option C - someone might be in a heightened state of physiologic stress (for whatever reason), which impairs their digestion and absorption (thus resulting in a nutritional deficiency). Option D - you can have any issue without it having a shock/dissociative connection Additionally, whether the survival responses cause the secondary issue (nutritional deficiency, inflammation, behavior, etc ...) or the primary pathology/event (infection, injury, etc ...) causes an unintegrated survival response ... both will have associated symptoms and behaviors (i.e. causes and effects both have symptoms). Symptoms mean something is real, not that it is the cause. Because of this range of options, it is best to pursue whatever care or work-up is appropriate to your unique situation, carefully consider timelines of symptoms and all options, and have a "both/and" mindset instead of "either/or" (willing to address both the injury/environmental issues and the internal/survival state issues, not creating a false dichotomy or unnecessary choice).

The easiest situations are where there is some element of physical shock or dissociation from a non-malicious event (i.e. head injury, surgery, or accident) without a previous history of trauma. These are even easier to address when the current home or environment is stable and loving versus chaotic or unstable. The next easiest group to work with is those who (regardless of the extent of their historic issues) have well-developed knowledge of themselves and who have tried various things in the past, have good resolve, and simply do not know how to resolve physiologic shock or dissociation. This becomes even easier if they have developed, internal physiologic awareness (interoception) through high quality training (athletics, martial arts, ballet, yoga/Pilates, breathwork, weight lifting, etc ...). Not all training or physical exercise is high quality! The hardest situations (which comprise the majority of my work) involve clients with symptoms of uncertain cause, complex histories, and current mental or emotional fatigue and depression (making learning and implementing difficult). This is often compounded when accompanied by current situations of instability or dependency in their life, home, or relationships - which makes prioritizing resolution of current versus historical issues an important question. Improving perception and healthy bonding is usually helpful even in unstable situations because it is difficult to make accurate and productive decisions without accurate perception. Resolving shock and dissociation also often allows people to modulate between various responses which might be appropriate and needed depending on the situation - fight, flight, freeze, etc ... - highlighting an important point that survival response themselves are not innately bad, they are simply calibrated or not calibrated to a particular situation. So we work to calibrate those responses and perception, not eliminate them.

- Anyone not resolved to address whatever physical or emotional issues relates to their goals and symptoms. - Anyone not intending to follow through on an initial plan - Any parent seeking help for their child who isn't open to addressing their own emotional or physical or mental needs, and their interpretations and responses to their child. Any parents not open to non-cognitive strategies to their child's issues. - Anyone rushing and not considering the timing of this work, not just whether it is possible to heal - Anyone doing multiple things simultaneously should be cautious of dividing their focus and distraction from the real issues - Anyone looking to "re-wire" their nervous system versus identify what is or isn't emotionally or physically healed - Those who want to focus on symptoms

Generally people who are dissociated and/or minimizing and not acknowledging major issues to themselves or others. Also, people with significant generational issues. In these cases, we generally start working on some initial issue or symptom only to find much bigger issues present. This is not necessarily willful or malicious. Sometimes it is simply a feature of dissociation, or not realizing that something is important and dysfunctional because it feels normal.