Doug Goeppner

I have special interests in working with individuals who are dealing with anxiety, life-cycle transitions and related decision-making challenges, and those who are experiencing grief and loss related to the loss of friends and family as well as the loss of beloved pets. I have also completed Tier One and Tier Two trainings as a Star Behavioral Health provider for veterans and their family members who are dealing with these same types of issues. I am a Master's level social worker with almost 30 years of experience working in the field of disabilities as a legal rights advocate, ADA Coordinator, and part-time college instructor. I have most recently worked for 3 years as a supervised therapist at a community mental health center and successfully achieved the goal of earning my LCSW credential so that I can work independently as a licensed therapist. If you give me the opportunity to be your therapist, I am confident that you will find it both helpful and enjoyable dealing with someone with a great deal of professional and life experience who also loves being a therapist.

Regardless of what brings you to therapy, I believe that your overall success depends upon your trust in both your therapist and in the process itself. I focus on earning that trust by providing a non-judgmental and safe space where you can comfortably share your thoughts and feelings, and where we can work on your goals together at a pace that works best for you.

I use an integrative and empowering approach combining Person-Centered, Strength-Based, Solution-Focused, and CBT therapy techniques. This creates a collaborative, non-judgmental space for us to identify your strengths as well as any negative thought patterns, and provides a basis for us to come up with practical real-world ways for you to achieve your therapy goals.

Our first session together is the intake, which can take a bit longer than a standard therapy session. This extra time, which can range from 15 to no more than 60 minutes longer than a typical 1 hour session, ensures that we have plenty of time to accurately gather your history. Think of it as a structured yet casual Q&A session where our goals are to start getting to know each other, for me to learn about your unique story, and for us to collaborate on your goals for therapy. Once we have completed this important first session, actual therapy will begin at your second session.