Tom is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Certified Sex Offender Treatment Provider in Virginia. Tom received his Master of Science in Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Counseling from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Wisconsin. Tom has been working with at risk youth and their families for 40 years. He started out as a houseparent on the VisionQuest Wagon Train and he worked in a group home setting as well as intensive in-home services as well as a therapist at Jewish Family Services and the Beaumont Juvenile Correctional Center. Tom has a trauma informed approach to working with youth and adults alike and he is passionate about breaking the cycle of substance abuse and sexual abuse.
Tom has a client centered approach in addressing abuse and addiction and he focuses on quality-of-life issues and validating rather than shaming. Tom incorporates CBT and DBT approaches in therapy to assist the client in understanding how they can love themselves without loving the way they are acting. Tom is skilled in working with those struggling with PTSD from past abuse including institutional abuse.
Tom is active in working out at the gym with his personal trainer and he is an advocate of lifelong learning and growth and in working with the geriatric population to focus on living well as opposed to living long.