Book a therapist or psychiatrist in Woodbridge, VA covered by Aetna

I have over 10 years of experience as a social worker assisting those with chronic mental health struggles. I specialize in anxiety, OCD & phobias, mood disorders and general work with adults experiencing challenging life stressors, change or loss. No matter what life stage you are in, therapy can help you cope and learn to thrive.

Are you worried that therapy will feel awkward and formal? It doesn’t have to be. As a Licensed Professional Counselor with over 10 years of experience, I have learned that people are more complicated than a diagnosis, a history, or a list of things that have gone "wrong." Therapy should be a place where you can be honest, curious, and fully yourself. You shouldn't have to worry about saying the 'right thing', or knowing exactly what you want out of the experience.

Whether you're struggling with substance use yourself or loving someone who is, you don't have to figure it out alone. I support people living with substance use concerns and the partners, parents, and adult children who care about them. I also work with people navigating anxiety, depression, panic, OCD, ADHD, PTSD, and women's mental health, including postpartum concerns. I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with experience in both outpatient therapy and residential care, so I've worked with people at the very start of recovery and years into it. I'm trained in EMDR, Seeking Safety, Motivational Interviewing, and CBT. I'll meet you with warmth and respect for where you are today.

I am a client-centered therapist who works with individuals navigating stress, life transitions, and emotional challenges, using a collaborative and supportive approach to foster growth and resilience.

Hi, my name is Austin and welcome to my private practice. As a man who has been deeply affected and healed by counseling, I get the need and role of counseling firsthand. This is why I love counseling: I believe humans were created to share their stories and to work through difficulties together. Counseling is my life’s passion. I am truly honored and delighted to now walk alongside others in dark places toward durable hope and lasting change.

I am personally acquainted with the pain of grief. After the loss of my mother to suicide, I began a counseling journey that revealed many unexplored areas in my life that needed compassion and care. These experiences have brought me face to face with life’s difficulties.

I received my Bachelor’s Degree from the United States Air Force Academy (Colorado Springs, CO) in Foreign Area Studies (Russia and Eastern Europe). After graduation, I worked as a military aviator and US Air Force Officer in domestic and international locations. I returned to graduate school to pursue a Master’s of Arts in Counseling and a Master’s of Divinity at Covenant Theological Seminary. Over the years, as a counselor, I have worked in a community-based counseling center, as a staff counselor for a church counseling center, and I am now in independent practice, working with men, veterans, couples, and families navigating trauma and PTSD, and the many ups and downs of life.

I have traveled throughout the world during my Air Force career. Seeing the many ways humans experience the world, in all its pain and joy, has only increased my passion to care for others. From working with teenagers and their struggles to individuals seeking hope to the married couple with decades of experience to everyone in between. I love working with people who are struggling and want change.

You are the most important person when you enter my space. Finding a therapist that’s a good fit is half the challenge and I am committed to creating that space for you to be yourself, share your truth and continue your process of growth. It’s about facing challenges together. I’m not here to make you change BUT I will set the stage for you to grow and develop your strengths.

I am committed to helping manage anxiety, depression, life stressors, trauma, and challenges that adults, families and teens may face. A good fit for me is a client who knows something needs adjustment but is not necessarily sure what that is. It is my role to guide, to challenge, to support, and to set that stage for growth.

If what you’ve been doing in the past isn’t working, are you ready to try something new? My mission is to educate and to empower you to live your optimal life. Reaching out can feel overwhelming. Just call or email for a consultation. I’ll answer your questions and share how we might work together. I’m here to provide you with support and guidance.

Making the decision to start therapy is a profound investment of your time, energy, and vulnerability. If you are looking for a blank-slate clinician who simply nods and listens, we might not be the best fit. I offer a highly engaged, malleable, and unflinching partnership.

My approach is rooted in the belief that while the work of untangling our lives is deeply structural, the room itself doesn't always have to feel heavy. I bring a grounded warmth to my practice—which means knowing how to sit quietly in the gravity of a difficult truth, but also knowing when to break the tension, exhale, and find the light in the sheer complexity of being human. I won’t just sit in silence while you do all the heavy lifting; I am an active collaborator who adapts to exactly where you are.

I’m a licensed therapist who believes therapy should feel supportive, collaborative, and real. I work with adults navigating anxiety, stress, relationship challenges, life transitions, and self-esteem issues, with a focus on helping you feel more grounded and confident in your day-to-day life. My approach is practical and compassionate—I help you understand patterns, build coping skills, and make changes that fit your life. Most importantly, I aim to create a space where you feel safe, heard, and never judged.

For the past 35 years I have helped clients work through troubling life situations. Throughout my career I have worked with a broad spectrum of clients from every walk of life. I have treated people struggling with a wide range of problems; depression, anxiety, marital difficulties, infidelity, loss of a job, domestic violence, PTSD or other life altering circumstances. Your past does NOT equal your future. Who you can become is not defined by who you have been, who you think you are now, or by what experiences that may have impacted your life to this point. My role is to challenge and empower you to transform your life, helping you to change your patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that may not work or don't support you to attain the personal growth you are committed to accomplishing.

I have practice as a Licensed Professional Counselor since 2012 and I also hold the license for Licensed Substance Abuse Treatment Practitioner.

I have extensive experience working with complex trauma, attachment issues, family, and spiritually and religiously-based trauma.

For more than twenty years, I have had the privilege of walking alongside adolescents, adults, and couples during some of the most difficult and meaningful seasons of their lives. I believe that sometimes it can be difficult to see beyond the darkness in front of us. My role is to listen without judgement while helping you find your way toward the light again.