We only have one life to live. I think we'd all agree that we want to live a happy life, one that has meaning, and fulfills us. We want:

• productive activity that challlenges us, engages our skills and teaches us new ones,
• a life that is enriched by relationships and accomplishments with which we can be proud,
• a life without regrets or worries,
• to live our life fully,
• to maximize our potential,
• to produce a legacy that benefits those that will survive us and we can look back on with pride.

And we want to do all this while feeling healthy and safe.

How many of us succeed? Thats hard to say. We all know people who claim to have a life like this, and we certainly know people who will recount their regrets on request.

You might notice that having it all, all the time, may be impossible. Some of us might conjure up some old sayings like:

• "You can't have your cake and eat it too."
• "You can't always get what you want."

But how to do we make sure we get what we need when we need it most?

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I have over 30 years experience providing counseling to a wide variety of adults including many persons with long standing, complex, and difficult problems that haven't responded well to treatment. I have extensive experience with the broadest diversity in treating depression, anxiety, relationship difficulties, recovery from child and/or domestic abuse, crime survivors, including sexual abuse and rape. There are several ways you can work with me.

You can now learn to Live Emotionally Free, Mindfully Aware and Totally Centered! After 30 years of experience providing mental health services, I have discovered six key concepts to a healthy life. Let me show you how to live the kind of life many of us only dream about, a life of passion about what is important. Let me show you the way through Full Impact Living!℠

• If you are in emotional or psychiatric crisis, relapse from chemical dependency, and/or at risk for self-harm, you are in need of intensive services. Contact me at the Partial Hospital Program at Hennepin County Medical Center
  Call me at 612-871-5692.
  
  
• Send me a brief email inquiry and we can negotiate what service might be helpful. You can ensure your email will remain private by using a free secure encrypted account at hushmail.com. Address your email to davemsw[at]4securemail[dot]com or click here for secure email to me. Your confidentiality is ensured by encryption of both the content and Internet links. Or call 763-250-1231, but don't leave a voice mail with confidential information. 

• If you live in Minnesota and would like to engage in therapy through the convenience of video conferencing, register for a $50 Initial 30 Minute Consultation. I provide video conference based counseling by appointment. Online therapy can be an effective way to get the counseling you need at your convenience. All you need is a simple web camera, a head set, a free download of video conferencing software at VSee.com and a basic broadband Internet connection, such as DSL or Cable. If you don't already have a web camera or a headset, there are some in linked my store. VSee.com provides secure encrypted video conferencing for all it's users. Learn more about video conferencing and confidential security here.

• Consulting or Life Coaching is not treatment nor is it intended to treat mental illness. The standard treatment for mental illness is therapy. Therapy is offered by state jurisdiction in the United States, through licensing and certification. Please seek help in your own area for treatment for mental illness to be sure that your individual rights are protected. If you live in Minnesota, perhaps I can help.

  I consult with people about managing the effects of emotion in their lives, managing a difficult child/adolescent behavioral problem, personal growth, coping with unusual stressors, relationship issues, or most any kind of issue that doesn't require therapy. Consultation is about offering ideas, concepts, and new perspectives problems or goals that are very important to you. Life coaching can be offered via video conferencing, telephone or email.

• Emotional Intelligence Training is available by contract in classroom or conference settings or via a web-based video conference. I will come to you in person or via the Internet. Please contact me if you have an interest or have questions.|
  
  
• Management Consultation and Training is available via web conferencing or in person. Topics available include emotional intelligence, continuous quality improvement, strategic planning, employee centered development and inclusive management. Please contact me if you have an interest or have questions.

Is Video Therapy Effective?

Online therapy has many advantages, such as convenience and no need for travel. However, not every mental health problem is appropriately treated online. Persons who present a significant risk of suicide or risk to injure others need face-to-face mental health services. If you have a serious problem that includes a risk of suicide or harm to others, visit your local hospital emergency department.  If this is not an imminent risk, you can find many outpatient face-to-face resources here. Or you can call one of many sucide hotlines.

Providing therapy on-line is a  a new and still developing form of therapy. Every month there are new articles measuring the effectiveness of online methods of providing therapy and education. Of those that I have seen, outcomes are equivalent to face to face methods. More study is needed. Most of the studies look at using educational methods supported by text based exchanges between clients and therapists usually via email. Only a few studies have looked at using video conferencing but the results have been the same. Although there is reason to believe this form of therapy may serve your mental health needs, the extent of such benefits are still largely, from a research perspective, unknown. There may be more substantial risks to confidentiality by using the internet. Problems can occur with your or my computer, VSee software, and the network beyond my control. Traditional treatments for your presenting problem may include face-to-face therapy at a local clinic. Sometimes group or family therapy is an appropriate alternative. If you prefer to receive a more traditional therapy, please refer to various lists of local clinics and providers here, here, or here. Or if we begin Video therapy and it appears face-to-face may be a better alternative, I will provide a referral. The reader is assured that I am keeping on top of the literature and will continue to add references and abstracts below as I find them.

Your confidentiality and privacy is paramount. You can be assured that all the information you provided to me is secure, safely stored in compliance with The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Minnesota Data Practices Act. While you enter information on this site, you are protected by secure SSL encryption. (Click on the image to the right for validation.) All client documents are stored in secure encrypted files in duplicate, in two separate secure locations. I assure your privacy. See the Client's Rights document for more about your rights.

You also rely on your own choices in how we communicate confidentiality is protected by me to the extent that is limited by the various technologies we use. All email I send you through davemsw[at]hushmail[dot]com is secured by encryption in print, and then again, as it's sent through my email system.

VSee.com guarantees that their video-audio conferencing software is secure. Powerful but simple, VSee.com is available for download here.

If I am initiating an email exchange, I'll do so only through secure email. If you contact me, I will respond with the email address you choose. So be careful of sending private information via my unsecured email, dave[at]ePsyQ[dot]com. While, the email is sent via secure SSL, I cannot encrypt the print within the email. And, Gmail which I use as a mail router, stores all emails until deleted. Your email service will likely do the same.

It is strongly recommended that you use a secure email system such as Hush Mail. Otherwise, an intruder on your end of the email system could read what you've written. If you are using a public computer or you share your computer with someone else, it may not be possible to maintain your privacy via email. Spy software can record every keystroke you make. Make sure you are using an up-to-date anti-virus, privacy, and firewall software to protect your privacy.