About David
EDUCATION:
Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education, Oakland Unversity, 2oo2
Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy, Richmont Graduate University, 2017
Doctor of Philosophy in Marriage and Family Therapy, Lee University, 2024
As a therapist, David loves joining with families to discover the paths that lead to more peace, healing, connection, and well-being. He offers a helpful therapeutic presence and space to work on every type of family relationship and dynamic. David’s approach is trauma informed, and heavily influenced by Family Systems Theory, Attachment Science, Emotion Focused Couples Therapy, Internal Family Systems, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. David has significant experience working with families that have members with special needs. David headed the mental health services for Jacob’s Ladder Neurodevelopmental School, in Roswell, Georgia for 4 years. There, he worked closely with many students with numerous diagnoses and their families. David is a fully-licensed marriage and family therapist in both Georgia and Tennessee.
As a consultant, David’s variety of experiences and roles in educational and clinical environments have positioned him well to guide school communities through rapidly changing culture and the challenges to mental health for teachers, students, and their families. David is gifted in creating and implementing tailored and comprehensive mental health and wellness service plans for schools. David was a high school teacher for 15 years, teaching in large public schools, smaller private schools, and an innovative, non-profit program for special needs students. His desire to be more of a help for students and their families experiencing difficult circumstances moved him to pursue a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy.
David has been married to his wife since 2004, and has three children. He enjoys teaching and writing, dining out with his wife, and trying to avoid serious injury while playing with and coaching his teen-aged son’s basketball team. David is currently teaching and studying at Lee University, pursuing a PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy, and working in local area schools as a mental health consultant.
“The relationships David has fostered with my students over the years have been life-changing. The impact he has made on my students is undoubtable. He builds rapport with great patience and takes time to listen well. The quote “knowledge speaks, wisdom listens” comes to mind when I think of David. He creates a trusted, safe place for my students to share and learn about emotions, empathy, mindfulness, and more.”
“David has built a beautiful and powerful framework of therapeutic offerings for our students who struggle with profound trust, safety, connection and relational issues.”
“David’s strong and creative leadership has not only transformed the students in our program, but also the staff that was there to support. His words and work built a culture of Hope, Truth, and Love. ”