Ryan has been helping people chart their course and grow into their potential for the past decade.

CREDENTIALS

  • MS, MFT from the Department of Psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary

  • B.A. in Philosophy and Theology at APU

  • Restoration Therapy Level II Certification (A Couples Therapy Modality)

  • Gottman Level I Certified Couples Therapist

EXPERIENCE

  • 2 Years experience as Adjunct Professor of couples therapy for Azusa Pacific university MFT program.

  • 10+ years experience working with complex relational trauma in the BIPOC communities of DTLA and inner city Phoenix.

  • 10+ years experience working with issues of depth psychology, meaning making, purpose, and belonging for emerging adults.

ABOUT RYAN

My Private Practice Journey

My undergrad training to be a pastor afforded me many experiences of sitting with people in the pain of living an incongruent story. My experience in ministry led to work in inner city Phoenix as a functional behavioral specialist. It was rewarding work with severely traumatized youth and broken families for a couple years. Eventually academia pulled me back in for a graduate program in marriage and family therapy. At Fuller, I gained technical insight to the relational dynamics and social systems that wound us. I began to see how our wounds drive us away from our most genuine selves.

I am captivated by what Michael Meade suggests on the matter: “At the level of the soul, each person is gifted, but each is also wounded in some way. All of us have a wounded side, a little limp that holds us back, or a weak wing that makes taking off in life more difficult. If our wounds were not intimately bound up with our gifts, we would find our inner gold more readily and share it more fully.”

This perspective, combined with my own personal history of complex relational trauma, would lead me back to working with deeply wounded people grappling to transition to meaningful ways of living. The emphasis of the work was on resilience and post traumatic growth.

After graduating from Fuller, I continued working for non-profit Department of Mental Health (DMH) contracted agencies while simultaneously launching my own practice focused on couples therapy with the hopes of being able to grow into a work/life balance that worked for starting my family.

Over the years I have worked extensively with emerging adults seeking purpose and meaning out of the traumatic experiences of failed relationships and childhood trauma. I have been able to come alongside many couples who are longing for connection but have been bound up by the pain of unresolved wounds. I have grown quite fond of working with high achieving high performance men seeking deeper connection, meaning, and purpose in life.

Recently I began a new journey as Founder, CEO, and Clinical Director of Praxis: A Psychotherapy Practice - a professional corporation dedicated to the growth and development of this next generation of helpers.

Helper

I’m all about depth over distance. It feels as if society is in a race to see how far we can go and we often don’t leave room for experiencing true depth. I’m focused on diving deep into what truly matters—beyond the surface level of daily life that often leaves us feeling disconnected.

Philosopher

In a world that is largely focused on deconstruction we need a new organizing and collective meaning to construct. All of the different points where society is deconstructed, religion, church, institutions. Deconstruction is really important but how do we reconstruct? Let me help you reconstruct.

Father & Husband

I am a proud father of two adventurous young girls, a partner of 12 years to a strong and courageous entrepreneur, and a dog dad of ridiculously high energy Australian shepherd. In the little free time I am afforded these days, I dabble between adventures in the mountains, wood working, mornings at the ocean, and my newest hobby of sim racing.

MY GROUP PRACTICE - PRAXIS

Praxis is a relational psychotherapy practice nestled in the San Gabriel foothills, just outside of Los Angeles.

Our team of highly relational therapists helps individuals and couples with anxiety, depression, questions of life purpose, barriers to relational intimacy, and experiences with trauma find clarity in their lives and cultivate healthier relationships with others and themselves. We are committed to creating brave spaces with genuine connection that enable people to grow into the person they are becoming.