Tom Marrs

I have seen specialists trapped by the adage: "When the only tool in your toolbelt is a hammer, the world starts to look like a nail." On the other hand, you may hear "I use an eclectic approach." But what does that mean? To use an analogy, an eclectic approach means I have experience using a lot of different firefighting tools, depending on what I have learned will put the fire out quickly. But we must also understand how the fire started so we can prevent new fires from starting. Everyone has fires in their life, and you are the expert on the people and situations that ignite and fan your fires. You also know what has worked, what has not worked, the feedback you have gotten about your fires, and your family history of firefighting. My eclectic, multicultural approach helps me fully utilize my training, experience, and skills in using different scientifically validated firefighting methods to help you get to a place where hopefully—you no longer need a firefighter.

If you ask what I believe, I will tell you; however, we aren't here for me--we are here for you. When a psychologist and client are like-minded, I have found that some clients prefer to sit and talk about beliefs, distracting from painful feelings or thoughts. From my perspective, the real benefit of seeking help is to get a new and novel perspective. Otherwise, I am no different than friends or family trying to help. If you seek only validation for your thoughts and behaviors, you may like me and we may want to be friends, but you will get very little from therapy. If what you really want is to be heard, accepted, and your feelings validated, and some skillful help, We are going to do great together. If there is something I am not familiar with, I will ask you to teach me, so I can help you better. The fact is, my personality and training make me feel as comfortable with a Catholic as an atheist, an LGBTQIA+ as heterosexual, and with any problem you want to discuss.