Meet Joe:

Welcome! I like to use this section to share a little about myself.

I live my life according to three essential values: compassion, gratitude, and understanding. I find that when I make choices from one or more of these spaces, I am always my best self. I try to live a full life, and fill it by doing things that I love, such as reading books, going to baseball games and traveling. I love my work as a therapist, and cherish the time I spend with my clients. Bearing witness to their lives is a gift and an honor for me. Therapy is one of the most beautiful and restorative things I have ever experienced. It gives me perspective on my life, and makes me feel connected in the best possible way.

While I have always been interested in psychology, following my undergraduate experience I took time off to follow another passion. For over half a decade I worked as a stand-up comedian, performing and producing live shows, and this afforded me the opportunity to travel around the country and overseas. Although I enjoyed this work creatively, I recognized a certain isolation in it, and felt increasingly called to connect with others on a deeper level.

In the years since I left comedy, I completed my professional training and graduate education in psychology at Seattle University, and worked in various mental-health settings: first with adults living with schizophrenia, next with teenagers in an inpatient facility, and lastly with active cancer patients and survivors who were dealing with the transformative nature of their diagnosis. Throughout these experiences, I learned a lot about what it means for people to overcome personal challenge and turn what they first perceive as weaknesses into strengths. My work as a therapist is an integration of the life lessons I’ve learned, and a continuation of my personal journey.

“Before every session, I take a moment to remember my humanity. There is no experience that this man has that I cannot share with him, no fear that I cannot understand, no suffering that I cannot care about, because I too am human. No matter how deep his wound, he does not need to be ashamed in front of me. I too am vulnerable. And because of this, I am enough. Whatever his story, he no longer needs to be alone with it. This is what will allow his healing to begin." – Carl Rogers