Donald Bliss

(Falo português também.) Hello, my name is Don. I have both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in Social Work, and I have over forty years of experience in the field of mental health and addictions treatment, both in direct services and in program management — even longer if you count the foster children I grew up with and the community work that I did as a teenager. I am endlessly curious and have lived abroad in Africa and South America, and in the North, South, East and West of the United States, and am fluent in Portuguese and have studied a few other languages. I love meeting people and learning their stories, and helping my clients find their joy again — or to find it for what might be the first time. I believe in doing my part to make this a world that works for everyone, and doing what I can to help my clients feel happy and satisfied in their lives. Throughout the years I have been employed or volunteered in private and public-benefit (“non-profit”) corporations and in government agencies, and have worked in various clinical settings ranging from outpatient treatment facilities and private practice to inpatient psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment centers, community agencies and employee assistance programs. I have worked in direct services as well as case management and program management, design and evaluation. My experience encompasses an incredibly diverse range of client populations and problems, and includes individual, couple, family and group psychotherapy. My areas of clinical expertise include but are not limited to: relationship and family issues; brief, solution-focused therapy; workplace and organizational issues; addictions and unhealthy dependencies; cross-cultural communications and relations; sex and sexuality; and HIV/AIDS (and chronic illness). My Bachelor of Social Work degree is from George Williams College, now part of Aurora University, and I earned a Certificate in International/Intercultural Studies during those studies as well. My master’s degree is from the University of Maryland at Baltimore, one of the largest schools of Social Work in the country. I am a firm believer in life-long professional development and have attended countless conferences and continuing education programs, and continue to do so. I have also served on several non-profit and government planning boards, and have managed a number of programs in the public-benefit sector. In addition, I help facilitate personal/spiritual growth trainings, and have published guest and relationship advice columns in newspapers and magazines. My educational and professional experiences have been broad and wide-ranging, but beyond that I have extensive life experience which I consider equally significant in terms of how it informs my approach with clients. As a therapist, my goal is to support, encourage and challenge you to find your joy. Your life is your own and you have your own dreams, wishes and desires. I want to help you achieve them, and to assist you in taking whatever positive steps it takes for you to get there. I don’t believe that there is any particular road that you have to take to get there, as people are not made from cookie-cutters and what works for one person might not work for another. Therefore, my pledge is to help you find your path to happiness and contentment, and to explore with you new options for thinking, feeling, doing or being along the way. Thank you!