Early adopter, enterprise social media platform co-founder, psychotherapist; I wear many hats, from clinical social worker to public speaker to corporate consultant for Fortune 500 companies & non-profits. I’m committed to applying principles of play & game design to psychology & education to maximize fun & learning. If you’re looking for an engaging, direct, friendly futurist to help guide you or your organization into a better & more vital place, I’m your guy.
My work focuses on gaming, social media, & psychology, as well as the impact of social networks on relationships. A gamer-affirmative psychotherapist & educator, I’m interested in team-building between the video game industry, consumers & mental health. I wrote a book about it, called Reset: Video Games & Psychotherapy & have conducted workshops at SXSW, PAX East, Harvard University, Boston University, Boston College, SUNY-Buffalo, & dozens of other organizations.
I received my BA from Connecticut College in 1991, and my MSW from Smith College School for Social Work in 1994. I’m a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker with 20 years of experience counseling adults, children, adolescents and families. I served on the NASW GLBT Issues Committee and the Massachusetts Commission on GLBT Youth. I am an adjunct faculty at Boston College School for Social Work and a teaching associate in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. I am licensed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker. MA Lic: 1027261
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS UNLOCKED
• Psychotherapist, work with adults, children & adolescents for over 20 years.
• Author, Reset: Video Games & Psychotherapy
• Public Speaker, SXSW, PAX East, Harvard University, Boston University, Boston College, SUNY-Buffalo, & dozens of other organizations
• Educational Consultant helping children & adolescents who need extra support & understanding in order to make effective progress in their school environment
• Supervisor at Harvard Medical School
• Resource on digital literacy & social justice issues such as LGBT awareness to the Massachusetts Commission for GLBT Youth, & serve in an advisory capacity to the NASW on issues including youth suicide prevention
• Faculty member at Boston College, University at Buffalo & Harvard Medical School teaching graduate classes on Technology & Social Practice, Diversity, & Psychodynamic Theory
• Contributor, Tauren Think Tank, GamerTherapist & Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop.
I usually have two different browsers open, run Minecraft in the background, and listen to Spotify more than iTunes. Currently I am musing about psychotherapy, video games, maker culture, social media, why we’re so down on failure, and the phenomenology of auto-responders.
