paulbestockphotography

Training and Background:

I received my Master's Degree in Clinical Social Work
from the University of Washington in 1973. (Before that, I
had trained to become an economist, taught high school
and middle school, and served as a volunteer and later as
an administrator with the Peace Corps.) I worked at the
Ryther Child Center with children and families for many
years. For ten years I worked with Divorce Lifeline, a
counseling service for separating and divorcing
individuals and their families. I was Adjunct Faculty at
Seattle University for fifteen years. For over twenty years
I taught workshops and training programs for the
University of Washington Department of Continuing
Education.

I work with families, couples and individuals. I help
people derive more satisfaction from their interpersonal
relationships, help children do better at home and at
school, help adolescents and their families be more
caring and competent, help people who feel depressed
and anxious generate more creative satisfaction in their
jobs and lives, and help people gain more control of their
use of drugs, alcohol and food. My counseling approach
varies with the needs and strengths and goals of my
clients. My clinical work, as well as my teaching, is
characterized by an emphasis on positive communication
patterns. Our emphasis is more likely to be on where we
are going and how we will create solutions, and less on
why there are problems.

I am currently licensed by the State of Washington, am a
member of the National Assn. of Social Workers, and the
Washington State Society for Clinical Social Work. I am a
preferred provider for many insurance companies,
Employment Assistant Programs, and managed health
care plans.