Hi, I'm James...
and I'm really glad you're here. I’m a pre-licensed marriage and family therapist specializing in helping individuals and couples heal from trauma. Whether your pain stems from childhood experiences, relationship betrayals, high-control religious settings, or other forms of overwhelm, I believe healing is possible—and you deserve it.
In our work together, we’ll follow the tri-phasic approach to trauma therapy, a gentle and grounded path that unfolds in three stages. We begin by creating safety and stability, building a sense of inner refuge. From there, we carefully explore and process the emotions and memories that surface, using modalities like Brainspotting and Experiential Therapy. Over time, we move toward integration—where your past no longer defines you, and your inner world becomes a place of trust and wholeness. I offer weekly and bi-weekly sessions, as well as trauma intensives for those seeking deeper, focused healing in a condensed format.
Some clients have asked about the name of my practice and why I chose Guest House Therapy. Like many of the people I work with, I’ve been on a healing journey myself for many years. Along the way, I discovered Rumi’s poem The Guest House, which has become a steady and welcome companion—helping me stay grounded and centered in this beautiful work of healing.
The Guest House
by Rumi (translation by Coleman Barks)
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
James Berrian
MMFT, Brainspotting-Level 3