About Peter
Child, Adolescent & Adult Counselor, Sammamish Washington
My Path Towards Helping Others . . .
It seemed like a simple idea when I was young: I wanted to be helpful, and people needed help. From an early age, I volunteered at a hospital as well as held peer support roles in school. Through this I saw very early on that other people had different ups and downs than the ones I had experienced in my life, and I learned that being kind and listening went a long way.
As I experienced the amazing diversity of the world and people in it, I started studying psychology to learn all the different ways that people work. When I added social work to my studies, I learned about people as individuals who come from families and are part of a community–all elements that matter.
Cultivating My Understanding of People and the Tools to Help:
For the past several decades I have worked to learn and grow in my work and my understanding of people and myself. I have worked in an agency that provided crisis intervention and shelter for adolescents and their families, as well as in community mental health centers and child and family service agencies. For the past two decades I have worked primarily as a therapist in an agency, clinic, or private practice. I have found that the basis of helping is a simple idea; and the people who want help, the circumstances they are in, and the tools needed to be actually helpful are quite complex.
How I Work . . .
In my counseling work, my starting point is a strength-based, client-focused approach to understand you as an individual, as well as the strengths you have to positively change your situation. (I know we don’t always feel these strengths. I think we typically are more hurt than we show, and we are also not as broken as we feel.) I work with individuals, couples, and families, based on what is most helpful to the circumstances.
My focus has been to sit and listen with an open mind so I can best learn about you and your life. Then we work together–combining your wisdom with my knowledge–to achieve the changes that are most helpful to your goals. I have a lot of training and experience in managing and shifting anxiety, depression, and motivation issues, as well as helping clients heal and move on from difficult past experiences.
In addition, I employ a variety of therapeutic techniques as tools. I’ve learned that the more tools we use, the more situations we can approach with creative knowledge to find an approach that is most helpful. I use techniques from Solution-Oriented Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), as well as other approaches.
My Credentials
Bachelors of Arts in Psychology from St. Louis University
Bachelors of Science in Social Work from St. Louis University
Masters in Social Work from St. Louis University
Washington State Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LICSW)
Washington State Approved Supervisor for Masters in Social Work (MSW) License
On a Personal Note. . .
I enjoy the outdoors and snowboarding, and I like to play board games, card games, soccer, golf, and most games that include a ball. My sport of choice for many years has been Ultimate Frisbee. I am currently trying to teach my son this wonderful sport, and he is wanting nothing to do with it (I probably should have seen that coming!). Thankfully, he and I enjoy a lot of other activities together in our free time.