Oconomowoc
Hey, I’m Mitch; I’m really glad you’re here.Believe it or not, I didn’t set out to be a therapist – I later came to this work as a second career, rather than defaulting into it. Though I was raised here in Waukesha, I graduated in 2019 with my bachelor’s degree in English from a school called Azusa Pacific University on the outskirts of Los Angeles. After working as a writer for a few years, the pandemic afforded me a natural moment of pause where I decided to pivot my career into something I found more meaningful. I then joined the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Marquette University, from which I graduated in 2024.
When I’m not sitting in the therapist chair, you can likely find me at a local board game café teaching friends how to play Wingspan, writing short-form horror fiction, lifting very heavy things in a gym somewhere, or relaxing at home in my favorite armchair with my soft Siberian cat, Kita.
But let’s be real, you’re not here to get my resume—you’re reading this because you want to know if I’m a good clinical fit for you or someone you care about deeply. I can’t answer that for you upfront, but let me try to give you a sense of how I approach counseling and the therapeutic relationship.
Above all else, I believe in your innate ability to work on your presenting issues and to ultimately find tailored, meaningful solutions to the problems you’re up against. I would even contend that you already have most of the tools necessary to find those solutions, even if you aren’t yet well-practiced at identifying or using them. I also think you’re doing your best with the resources and information available to you at this moment, and that you’re seeking support because you’ve recognized (perhaps begrudgingly…) that a bit of help could go a long way in getting you closer to where you’d like to be. The road to resolution will not necessarily be a straight or an easy one, and I respect that going through this journey of self-discovery and growth is hard.
And that’s where I come in. I have an integrative approach to counseling, meaning that I pull from a variety of evidence-based modalities in the interventions I utilize and how I direct our sessions. Something like CBT may be good for identifying unhelpful thought patterns and your relationship with them, while something from ACT may be good for helping you with distress tolerance and emotional regulation skills. I don’t know what approach you’d benefit most from, and maybe even you don’t either, but I know that we can find the answer together if we combine my expertise with mental health treatment and your expertise with who you are and how you move through life.
The role that I take in our sessions is thus similar to that of a coach—it’s not my job to do the hard work, it’s yours. And the bulk of that work happens outside of my office between our sessions, in your daily life as you’re challenged every day to practice the things we discuss as you gradually change your thinking and behaviors. I’m here to empower you to lean into your strengths and to challenge you on your weaknesses, working with you each session to process your struggles and to assess how you’ve been doing on working towards the goals you’ve identified.
If you’re struggling to connect in your relationships, ready to eliminate your substance use, navigating a major life transition, feeling overwhelmed by anxiety, or trying to discover your sense of meaning and purpose in life, I think you and I could be a good fit for each other. Even if none of those directly describe you, I’d be happy to see what I can do for you. Contact me today, and let’s see if we can figure out the path forward for you!
“Know all the theories, master all the techniques, but as you touch a human soul – just be another human soul.”