Bruce Buirkle, LPC, LMFT, Doctoral Student
I have been married and divorced, suffered deaths in my family, and have had many wonderful life experiences and some incredibly difficult ones. In addition, I have worked with a wide variety of clients in many different contexts. I believe you can benefit from my extensive life experiences and my comprehensive training. My constant motivation is to use myself as a vehicle through which we can work together to resolve whatever it is you are trying to work through. Clinically, I have extensive experience going back over 20 years with a wide variety of clients. Some areas I have worked in include anger management, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and PTSD, both individually and in groups. Other areas include working with families, including children engaging in inappropriate or self-destructive behaviors. I enjoy working with couples for pre-marital, marital, and post-marital counseling. Issues here include conflict about money, parenting, sex, infidelity, in-laws, chronic health issues, infertility, gambling, substance abuse, emotional distance, and frequent conflict, including domestic violence. I have conducted groups for BIPP (Batterers’ Intervention Prevention Training) and worked individually with men who are violent toward women. I have experience helping with substance abuse recovery both individually and in groups.
As a Certified Vocational Evaluator, I have years of involvement in work-hardening facilities, pain management, and the Workers’ Compensation system. I have led groups and individual counseling for those with chronic pain to help them cope with the discomfort and its ripple effect throughout life. Although you can learn to live with a disability, it may impact your enjoyment of life, finances, marriage, and career prospects. Part of this rehabilitative process involves performing a vocational assessment to uncover transferable skills to recommend what type of work and/or training would be most advantageous for someone to continue to live and thrive while keeping in mind their skills and interests. These assessments and counseling may include, or simply be career counseling as well.
Regarding my education, I am licensed as a Professional Counselor (LPC #67092) and Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT #201725). I am also certified as a National Certified Vocational Evaluator (002033) and hold certifications as a General Mediator and Divorce Mediator. I can work in Spanish (although not a native speaker) and I am currently pursuing my doctorate in Clinical Psychology, so I function as an Intern for Dr. Taft. My therapeutic approaches are those that are best for this particular client in those particular circumstances, although much of my work has been accomplished through cognitive behavioral therapy. I am particularly interested in working with couples, including high-conflict couples. Thank you for reading my information.