My Background

Jim Morin, LMHC

            Following my first career in early childhood education, I turned to a long time interest and trained to become a psychotherapist.  My formal credential is as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC).  I earned my counseling degree at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.  Because I have always been interested in a psychodynamic perspective on human behavior, I pursued additional training and completed a two years post graduate fellowship program with the Massachusetts Institute for Psychoanalysis. 

            Over the course of the past year I have begun to specialize in couples counseling.  I am currently enrolled in the Basic Training Program of Imago Relationship Therapy.  I find this framework helps me provide couples with a process tht facilitates  open communication in which safety and connection are enhanced, and childhood wounds, which severely complicate our relationships, are given an opportunity to heal in relationship.

            For the past ten years a great deal of my work has centered around domestic violence and th development of positive alternatives to controlling and abusive behavior.  I have worked with men who have been unable to be effective and supportive partners in their primary relationships because of mismanaged anger or a desire to control their partner’s behavior.  In this work I employ a cognitive behavioral approach to helping men more accurately consider their options, and make choices to behave in a responsible and respectful manner.  My involvement with abusive men has given me a valuable perspective for my work with individuals and couples.

            My work with adults spans a wide variety of issues from depression and anxiety to substance abuse and addiction, from intimacy to workplace behavior, and from communication and problem solving skills to stress management and relaxation.  My work with older adolescents and children often is concerned with school and family adjustment, particularly adjustment to challenging living situations after divorce.

            I entered the mental health field as a second career following my first professional interest as a teacher and educator.  I have taught from the college to the preschool level.  My undergraduate and graduate degrees in education were earned at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.  Much of my education career was devoted to the provision of high quality early childhood education in multi-cultural university settings.  For many years I worked with young children and their parents, both as a teacher and a program director.  I was always drawn to children who struggled to adapt to the expectations of school and home, and to the parents and caregivers who tried to help them.  About half of my current work is with children and families, for which my early work with young children has been an invaluable preparation. 

            Outside of work, I am active in my community in anti-violence work with Wakefield Alliance Against Violence addressing issues of bullying and domestic violence.  I find much of my recreation in nature, and enjoy skiing and tennis whenever I can.