Derek Wittman (He/Him/His)

Parenting can be so rewarding - until it isn't. And your friends say you'll miss these days. You don't believe them because you lack sleep and your child is doing something so rotten, you have a difficult time believing that they are doing their best. I'm not saying they are or they aren't. What matters most is that you don't like feeling this way and need some relief from the noise they make and the voice of the Failure in your head. I've been there. It can get better for you, too.

Grief and Loss comes in many forms. Aside from the tragedy of death, we experience the endings of all sorts of relationships - friendships and romantic partnerships, too. Some transitions that offer grief include even happy and bittersweet times like graduation. And sometimes our grief is sustained with the advanced awareness of the loss (graduation, a chronic and deadly illness) while other loss and grief is abrupt. Regardless of why, the pain of loss is often worsened by feeling alone.

Grief and Loss come in many forms. Aside from the tragedy of death, we experience the endings of all sorts of relationships - friendships and romantic partnerships, too. Some transitions that offer grief include even happy and bittersweet times like graduation. And sometimes our grief is sustained with the advanced awareness of the loss (graduation, a chronic and deadly illness) while other loss and grief is abrupt. Regardless of why, the pain of loss is often worsened by feeling alone.

Relationships come in all different forms. And just as there are 8 billion (!) people on the planet, there are just as many ways to find a relationship to be successful. Despite those huge numbers, there are many tools and perspectives we might explore to help you create a vibrantly healthy relationship, either while the relationship is still young, or even after life's challenges have interfered in the shared life you're creating. The fact is you're looking for better - with your partner.

Having been married over 25 years, and firmly believing that it's important to practice the skills I help couples develop, I bring real experience to the challenges you're facing in your relationship. We evaluate a bit of what's not working for you, but also focus on solutions and practicing the skills, digging into what the relationship needs and wants to thrive. While one partner might be hesitant to share what they want in the relationship. However, the relationship needs your whole self.

Bringing over 25 years of real experience and hope into the counseling session, I practice what I preach when it comes to effective communication between members of the relationship. Without pressing into our needs as individuals, the relationship is not as robust as it might be. Vulnerable and "real" talk can be hard and talking to each other with me present can offer confidence in your home. Therapy isn't talking to me as much as the one who needs to hear your own words from your heart.

You're the expert on your own life. Where you want to go, we go. But I have questions meant to help you consider your values, your goals, and how your behaviors, tell the story you want to tell - who you really are. I'll help you edit - not the past - but the future to offer hope and growth, the development you need to live your values and accomplish your goals.

With over 7 years working in the recovery field (outpatient groups and outpatient rehabilitation), I am now working with individuals, couples, and families of addiction, focusing on the effects of one individual's loss of self to the addiction on the rest of the family. I help individuals break free of codependence and enabling, and to begin to heal from the trauma of carrying the weight of others' addictions.