Meet James
I’m James. I’m was born in Kansas City and it’s the only place I’ve ever called home. I grew up in this area, went to college at William Jewell (in Liberty, MO) and to graduate school at UMKC (go roos). The more people I meet the more I come to realize the way the communities I grew up in shaped me. I’ve been steeped in Kansas City, for better or worse, my whole life. Now I live and work in the KC area, trying to help the people around me find healing and wholeness.
I’ve spent time about half of my career in private practice but, as evidenced by the fact that I practice in two locations (Kansas City and Leawood), I crave variety. So I’ve bounced around to a few different practice settings, usually with a couple of different gigs at a time. I’ve worked in a hospital emergency department, helping folks get connected with acute care. I’ve worked with intensive outpatient groups, support groups, psychoeducational groups, and psychotherapy groups, and addiction recovery groups. I’ve done non-profit case management and taught psychology to undergrads. I’ve worked as a Director of Counseling for a large community organization, and I’ve served on the leadership team of the Johnson County Suicide Prevention Coalition.
No matter what I’ve done vocationally, the things that light up my heart have remained the same. I LOVE seeing people become the truest expression of who they are. Every one of us, regardless of our age or station in life, deserves to be that version of ourselves as much of the time as we can manage. And that’s what I’m here to help with.
FAQs
-
My tattoos are an ongoing passion project in finding ways to artistically display my core values. There are still a handful I’d like to get in the coming years.
I have four forearm-length illustrations: waves (symbolizing flow), flower (symbolizing growth), clouds (symbolizing freedom), and a cairn of stones (symbolizing balance).
Connecting these pieces are illustrations of strands of DNA, which symbolize the interconnectedness of all life.
Finally, my first two tattoos. On my left arm, the words “for the girls,” reminder of my commitment to my wife and daughters. On my right arm, the words “Christ in you.” This one is harder to explain, but it’s an idea that the divine resides in all things, including me.
My newest tattoos, and the most self-explanatory, are the ones on my fingers, which say “JUST LOVE.”
Except for the words (which are in my wife’s handwriting), all the designs are the original art of the tattoo artist Bob Rodriguez, who works out of Exile Tattoo in Kansas City, Missouri. -
January 2026
Right now getting into performing stand-up comedy! My hope is to do an open mic once or twice a month this year.
I’m currently reading The Strength of the Few (the second book in the Hierarchy series) by James Islington. I enjoy big, sprawling fantasy series like this one, especially as a break from some of the non-fiction I like to read. I’m also partway through The Gift of Therapy, Irv Yalom’s 2012 “open letter” to therapists about the little things that shaped the first 55ish years of his practice. -
What a great question. This list is fluid, but many of the books on here have been on here for years.
Existential Psychotherapy by Irvin Yalom
THE text outlining the therapeutic perspective that guides my work. The summary: the facts of existence are hard ones, and authenticity is how we face them well.Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman
A beautiful case for embracing our finitude.
Say What You Mean by Oren Jay Sofer
A mindfulness-based primer on non-violent communication.
The Moral Animal by Robert Wright
A discussion of ethics from the perspective of evolutionary psychology.
How to be Perfect by Michael Shur
A hilarious and practical explanation of person-level ethics from the creator of The Good Place.
Honorable Mentions
Existentialism is a Humanism, Jean-Paul Sartre
The Will to Change by Bell Hooks
Deeper Mindfulness by Mark Williams and Danny Penman
The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir