Mark is a “Meat and Potatoes” kind of guy, both literally and metaphorically. In the literal sense, he’s definitely the kind of guy who enjoys a solid protein and an Idaho spud, and he’d probably do so wearing his flannel shirt after a day of ice fishing. He was, after all, born and raised in Blue Earth, so hunting, wood-working, and carpentry are part of the bloodline.

Sitting down with Mark evokes the kind of built-in comfort which is hard to quantify. It may be a bit like sitting down to a hearty beef stew on a cold winter night, or having a burger with fries in the summer with friends. Those kinds of foods and experiences, no matter where you go or how it’s prepared, feel familiar and tender, down-home and straight forward. Sitting with Mark helps you relax, be present, slow down, and appreciate the simple things in life. It just feels natural doing the work with him, and it very rarely feels like work.

One thing you might find surprising about Mark: He actually enjoys Telehealth! Don’t get him wrong, he’s also excited to be back in the office again with real live people. When working Telehealth, he appreciates how a client can spontaneously grab a picture, book, or instrument that helps them explain their feelings or experience. As therapists, we don’t usually get that kind of spontaneity or context in our office.

On coping with the pandemic: Mark’s done his own work enough to realize that for him to cope effectively with any situation, he needs two things: variety and access to “doing stuff.” He identifies as a kinesthetic processor, or someone who does better with movement when processing. Things like woodworking, being out in nature, or throwing a ball back and forth, helps him digest what he needs about the world. True to form, there isn’t “one way” that works best for him all the time. That’s why he enjoys a variety of clients, activities, and approaches to life because it keeps him more engaged and motivated.

Walk-Up Song: If you’ve never heard Bishop Gunn’s, “Shine,” it’s a unique combination of Blues, Country, and Rock and Roll that sets the perfect backdrop for a care-free summer scene, like driving with the top down or being out at the beach with friends. While the vibe is relaxed, If you reflect on the lyrics, you’ll hear a clear call-to-action to: find peace of mind, ground yourself, and repair emotional wounds. In other words, the song’s deceivingly simple sound allows for it’s otherwise hyper-conscious lyrics to float out there for us to think about and fully appreciate at our own speeds. For that reason, we think it’s a perfect encapsulation of Mark’s style!

Professional pet-peeve: Mark’s answer is succinct: “Therapists who don’t normalize feedback to their clients.” Mark doesn’t view feedback as a bad thing. Instead, he thinks feedback can make therapy, and most relationships, more productive because it creates an open dialogue on how it’s going and what can work better. By helping clients get more comfortable with feedback, he hopes clients will feel more comfortable advocating for themselves.

Favorite tool in the Therapist Toolbox: He’s about solutions, not particular skill sets. That’s why he borrows from modalities like Solution-Focused and Narrative approaches to therapy. But if there was one tool he had to identify with, he picked Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). When asked why, he said because “it’s the one most focused on going from unhelpful to helpful thinking,” and thinks he gets “a ton of energy” from collaborating with clients on finding and applying the right re-frame for them.

If you think Mark might be a fit for you, or have any additional questions about his approach, please reach out to our team at bizoffice@birchcounseling.com.

To keep with the food analogies, if Mark is like “Meat and Potatoes,” then Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the “Bread and Butter” of modern psychology. In other words, it’s the Hallmark or cornerstone to a lot of the work clinicians do. CBT can be used with individuals, groups, or couples. It works to treat common issues, such as depression and anxiety, but also offers the option to specialize in a more concentrated scope, such as with Trauma (TF-CBT) or Insomnia (CBT-I). And it often works for people regardless of their age, race, or background. So why does a guy who likes variety borrow most heavily from one style?

To provide some context for his rationale, Mark wasn’t especially interested in school growing up. Frankly, he found it boring. It wasn’t until he went to college and took his first psychology class that he even understood how to make learning work for him: it had to be applied. Experiences that had historically gone unnamed for him, things like “Automatic Thoughts” and “Cognitive Distortions” were now not only nameable, but also normalized enough that they were being taught in class. They were relatable. They had solutions. And the solutions made sense!

What Mark liked about CBT roughly a decade ago is still what he likes about it today: it makes sense and it can be applied in the moment with clients. Having thoughts you can’t control? Experiencing distress that is out of proportion to the situation? CBT helps you re-author your thinking by helping you slow it down and more objectively assess how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are all interacting with each other. And it does so without judgement. In fact, one of the core assumptions is that almost all people experience distress from how we interpret ourselves, others, and our world. By teaching people how to recognize what’s helpful/unhelpful about their thinking, observe themselves, and challenge their assumptions through small behavioral experiments, we can increase our faith in our own ability to respond to stressors differently.

CBT has a variety of tools that can be used to get you from where you feel stuck to where you’re trying to go. That’s also part of why Mark likes it. If you’re the kind of person who does well with journaling? Great! Prefer experiential learning through debate or role plays? That works too! CBT isn’t about a tool-box, it’s an entire tool shed. That means that regardless of your issue or perceived level of distress, CBT can be tailored to meet the needs of any individual without losing it’s core principle: if we want your feelings and behaviors to change, we have to change how you think about things. For Mark, there’s a “best of both worlds” element to that: familiar and flexible, customized and generalized, both in theory and practice.

Mark knows when CBT has been effective because clients “don’t need [him] to think of different ways they can interpret or respond to the situation anymore.” Essentially, he wants to teach you how to talk yourself out of needing him. Mark also realizes that new things come up over time, and the kinds of thinking you once had managed might come back with a vengeance. Don’t fret! He’ll be here to help you reflect, reframe, and re-work new adversities, should they arise along the way.