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 to find their joy again — or to find out what it might be for 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 others feel happy and satisfied in their lives, whatever that might mean for them.

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: depression and anxiety; communication and relationships; solution-focused therapy; workplace and organizational issues; addictions and unhealthy dependencies; intercultural issues/racism; sex and sexuality, and LGBTQI+ issues; children, youth, families and parenting; HIV/AIDS (and chronic illness), and more.

My bachelor’s degree specialization was Child and Adolescent Welfare, and I earned a Certificate in International/Intercultural Studies after doing independent studies in Kenya during those studies as well. My master’s degree specializations were Employee Assistance Programs (EAP’s) and Addictions, with a dual concentration Clinical Services and Administration. I am a firm believer in life-long professional development and have attended countless conferences and continuing education programs and would keep studying even if my licensure requirements didn’t demand it.

I have served on several non-profit and government planning boards, and also have managed a number of programs in the public-benefit sector. In addition, I helped facilitate and manage personal/spiritual growth intensives called The Evolution Training, 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. I have lived in small-town and middle-sized city Michigan, Chicago, Nairobi, Austin (Texas), Washington DC, Atlanta, New York City (as a “second home”), San Francisco, and Rio de Janeiro. Who knows if I have made my last stop yet?!

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, as people are not made from cookie-cutters and what works for one person might not work for another. I want you to discover or find what it takes to pursue your path forward, and to explore with you new options for thinking, feeling, doing things or simply “being” along the way.

Thank you for checking me out!