Dr. Daniel Wick, Psychologist

About me

Introduction to Dr. Wick, Psychologist

Link to improved version of the below: https://www.dropbox.com/s/szktnr50u1eyfwm/Introduction%20to%20Dr.%20Wick%20Betterhelp.pdf?dl=0

If you are reading this, it is likely that you have exhausted all your own abilities to resolve your problems that you believe a professional like I can help. That’s the first important step toward solving your issues. I practice Teletherapy, because I have found it to be the most practical, and supportive of the client-base I support. There are people (with serious suicidal thoughts/behaviors or serious mental disorders), who require face-to-face therapy, an institutional setting or a rehab clinic. If you find yourself in a crisis and you need help immediately, in America dial 911 and ask for assistance or go to your Local Hospital Emergency. In other countries, if an emergency number exists, call it or seek help at your Local Hospital Emergency or physician.

Teletherapy is providing an opportunity for therapists to see a wider range of clients, who cannot drive to a therapist’s office due to distance, time required, or personal limitations (as physical difficulties or responsibilities as childcare). Also, because I will answer messages (though often not immediately), I can provide you brief help when you need it between sessions. However, I never answer the telephone, because I am often out of range of service, talking to a person in crisis, or some other reason that makes it very difficult to promise to provide that service. I provide internet therapy sessions (video/voice) through the online-encrypted application. You may have other reasons for trying teletherapy including being locked down to due to COVID or other health issues, difficulty finding professionals in your area, cost, or curiosity. Those are just as valid. Whatever the reason that brought you here, you should know that teletherapy is likely to becoming a major method of providing mental health to others. In the near future, it will likely eclipse the in-office approach as the major way services are provided. However, as stated above, there will likely always be a need for physical face-to-face services for particular clients with issues that are suited for videoconferencing. (for more information on my views and approach to teletherapy can be found at the bottom of this document.)

Finding a therapist to meet your needs is a difficult effort. People use many different methods – word of mouth, yellow pages (where they still exist), internet searches, internet sites where professionals pay to present themselves, even paper media. However, as you read the blurbs people write or view their webpage describing the therapists, it is difficult to select a therapist. But, no method is perfect. So, my recommendation to you is to try out a therapist for a couple of sessions like you would a pair of shoes. Does the relationship feel right, comfortable, and a good fit for your needs? Most good therapists would rather you move to someone else than to stay with them reluctantly or unwillingly. On the other hand, it is difficult to open up yourself repeatedly in search of a therapist. You are looking for a therapist that is “good enough” with whom to build a therapeutic relationship. However, after you have developed a good therapeutic relationship with a therapist, you may find yourself wanting to quit. Be cautious to act on impulse. It is likely you are on the verge of a major positive break through and your conscious or subconscious wants to keep you where you are. If possible, discuss your feeling with your therapist. (Unless you feel your therapist is practicing unethical behavior, then contact their professional board.)

So why try me? My first graduate degree in psychobiology (brain research) where I began my graduate studies in psychology. While completing that degree in psychology, I worked in the areas of statistics, research design, and human factors which lead me to a developing a program for training helicopter pilots. I published one book on the skill retention of helicopter pilots.
This led me to working for a NASA think tank for over a decade, solving problems in the Space Shuttle and Space Station programs. You can review my papers and presentations on my NASA work in my resume.

Meanwhile, I completed two graduate degrees in therapy – one in family therapy and a second in counseling psychology. I have over 30 years of therapeutic experience in a variety of settings. I worked for a five years in schools doing school psychology with teenagers. For decades, I had private practices in family therapy and counseling psychology where most of my work was with state agencies. I spent the last of my professional career working for the VA with Veterans. Again, a review of my papers and presentations will give you a feel for the breath of my knowledge of psychology beyond counseling. You can find most of them on Google professional search engine under Daniel T. Wick.

Why am I still working after all these years? I found retirement boring and I am good at this. I have found that continuing to help people wonderfully rewarding – better that working in the garden or watching Netflix. When I was younger, I worked with two therapists who saw clients into their 80s and now I understand why. Helping others gives a purpose to my life.

I am empathetic to a degree that some “experts” might say is a fault in my therapeutic approach. The best descriptor of my approach is “eclectic” meaning the integration of the different approaches I have studied, the theories, interventions, and approaches over the decades to help others. (I wrote a paper describing my approach decades ago, that can be found in the "Papers" section below.) It should be obvious to the casual observer that one size shoe does not fit everyone – so eclectic. To be limited to one approach means I have to change you so my approach can help. I would rather mold myself to who you already are and choose a unique approach for you. Once, I think I have something to offer you I will find some way to present it to you.

I wish you the best of luck as you search for a therapist. I hope I can be of help. Drop me an email at BetterHelp server or drwickusa@protonmail.com and we can discuss whether I am the right person for you.

My resume and publications can be found here.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0ynroeztqppmq80/resume2021forpage.pdf?dl=0

Some papers I have written on my approach or thoughts here.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ogq2bpm0mwxwsq6/student%20version2.pdf?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cnq325l0ncyqiuz/steppingthroughthedoorofsocialconstuctionism.pdf?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/c9oo48tpjktzz9i/self-referent%20revised%207_18_21.pdf?dl=0

Professional experience

Additional areas of focus: Family conflicts, Grief, Intimacy-related issues, Parenting issues, Anger management, Self esteem, Career difficulties, Coping with life changes, Compassion fatigue, ADHD, Abandonment, Adoption and Foster Care, Aging and Geriatric Issues, Attachment issues, Autism and Asperger Syndrome, Avoidant Personality, Blended Family Issues, Caregiver issues and stress, Chronic pain illness and disability, Codependency, Commitment Issues, Communication problems, Control issues, Coping with Natural or Human-Caused Disaster, Dependent Personality, Divorce and separation, Domestic Violence, Emptiness, Family Problems, Fatherhood Issues, First Responder Issues, Forgiveness, Guilt and shame, Hospice and End of Life Counseling, Infidelity, Isolation / loneliness, Jealousy, Life purpose, Men's issues, Midlife crisis, Military and Veterans Issues, Money and financial issues, Mood disorders , Obsessions, Compulsions, and OCD, Panic disorder and panic attacks, Paranoia, Personality Disorders, Phobias, Post-traumatic stress, Pregnancy and childbirth, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Self-Harm, Self-love, Sexual Assault and Abuse, Social anxiety and phobia, Somatization, Traumatic Brain Injury, Workplace issues, Young Adult Issues

Clinical approaches: Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Existential Therapy, Mindfulness Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy

License information

TX Psychologist 15745

Reviews

These quotes represent just a few of the many positive reviews that we have received for Dr. Daniel Wick. We don't pay anyone to provide their review and they are all made voluntarily. Some people's experience receiving therapy with BetterHelp might be different.