Joseph Bretz

Joe earned his master's degree in counseling from the University of Missouri - Saint Louis in 2015 after a diverse career in nonferrous metals production and several years as a mediator with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Joe is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and is board certified by the National Board for Certified Counselors.

Joe has practiced in a wide range of venues including a university counseling center, a rural community mental health clinic, Veterans Affairs (VA) outpatient clinics, private practice, and has volunteered his services in an urban homeless shelter and an urban juvenile detention center. Joe works with adult individuals mostly with anxiety, depression, past trauma, and relationship issues.

Joe uses an eclectic approach that is person-centered, involves an exploration of feelings, facilitates personal insight, fosters mindfulness of the world, releases the client's will, which allows the client to make decisions for change.

First sessions involve an intensive diagnostic interview to understand symptoms, client history, current circumstances, and develop personalized goals.

Subsequent sessions are unstructured conversations that follow client's needs and depend upon open two way dialog. Clients are actively engaged in this process. These are not "manualized" treatment sessions. Client and counselor work together to explore, gain insight and awareness, and ultimately the client makes autonomous decisions about how they will live.