Dr. Brock S.

Dr. Brock S.

PhD, LMFT

Where Compassion Meets Action

 

Therapist Overview

 

Hi, I’m Brock! Thank you for taking the time to learn a little bit about me and how I can help you. Whether you’re interested in marriage and family therapy, individual therapy, or in coaching, my hope is that, through our work, you will grow stronger, happier, and more connected to the people who matter most to you. 

For over ten years, my passion has been helping people build happy, healthy relationships and create the lives they want. My approach combines compassion with action. I work to honor who you are as a person to help you feel safe and supported throughout our work so you can create substantive and long-lasting change. To do this, I will collaborate with you to employ a wide range of evidence based practices tailored to you as a person that are designed to help you meet your goals. 

I am a doctorate-level Marriage and Family Therapist and can provide therapy to clients in Utah and Minnesota. I am also available to work with coaching clients across the U.S. and internationally. 

Couples Therapy and Relationship Coaching

If you would like to improve your connection with your partner, strengthen your communication, or increase your satisfaction in your relationship, then couples therapy or relationship coaching would be a great fit. We can work together to get your relationship on the trajectory that you want, whether you are dating, newly married, or have been together for over 30 years. 

For couples therapy, I use an Emotionally Focused Therapy lens, which is the gold standard for couples therapy and has been designed and validated with rigorous science. I supplement this with strategies and interventions from the Gottman Method of Couples Therapy, as well as Cognitive Behavioral Couples Therapy. All of these modalities are evidence-based and allow you to develop skills and tools that can improve your relationship. 

While I am firmly dedicated to using the best strategies available, they serve as the foundation in our work together. My main focus is you, your partner, and the unique dynamics of your relationship. In relationship coaching, I draw on these evidence based practices while collaborating with you to create an action-oriented plan to achieve your specific goals. 

I will help you both feel more loved and supported, and more confident in your ability to care for each other in the ways you each need it the most. 

Here are a few examples of goals we can focus on:

  • Improving communication
  • Laying the groundwork for a happy marriage in premarital counseling
  • Healing and moving forward after a betrayal or affair 
  • Fostering a deeper emotional bond between you and your partner
  • Healing past or current wounds so you can move forward, united and free 
  • Breaking old patterns and creating new ones that help you meet each other’s needs
  • Developing routines and rituals to connect and support one another
  • Managing parenthood and household roles/responsibilities 
  • Improving sexual issues or sexual dissatisfaction  
  • Discernment: helping you make decisions about the future of your relationship. 

Individual Coaching

If you are interested in reaching your goals and growing as a person to lead a more happy and fulfilled life, then individual coaching is an excellent option. Coaching allows me to be a little more directive, and more focused on concrete action in our work together. Learn about the differences between coaching and counseling, and which approach is right for you. 

In coaching, we’ll work together to distill your goals and create an actionable plan to achieve them. To do this, I draw on a variety of evidence based practices (e.g. techniques from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, or Internal Family Systems Therapy) that best fit with you as a person and align with your goals to yield results. 

  • Feeling greater personal fulfillment 
  • Developing as a professional
  • Recovering from a breakup
  • Managing your emotions 
  • Coping with stress
  • Living in the present authentically
  • Improving your relationship with yourself and others
  • Improving your health, fitness, and lifestyle
  • Growing as a spouse, parent, or friend
  • Healing relationships
  • Balancing work and life
  • Understanding your past 

Parent Coaching

I love helping people grow into the best parents they can be. Working with a parent coach can help you manage your stress and find more joy in the parenting process, and it can have a positive impact on your children’s lives for years to come. I can help you learn effective parenting skills to connect more deeply with your children, establish secure attachments and a healthy home environment, and manage difficult behaviors. I can also help you find ways to parent or co-parent as an effective team.  

Dating Coaching

If you want to find a healthy, loving relationship, dating coaching is a great way to take action on that goal. As your dating coach, I can help you learn more about what you need from a partner and from a relationship, and find strategies to connect with the right person for you. In addition to helping you navigate the modern dating scene, I’ll help you understand your patterns and learn new relationship skills that will help you build meaningful connections that last.

Individual Therapy 

If you would like to see improvements in your mental health, or are looking to reduce your stress, individual therapy can benefit you. I have worked with many individuals throughout my career and my training as a Marriage and Family Therapist gives me a more systemic perspective on individual mental health that is responsive to all parts of you. I can provide therapy in both Utah and Minnesota. 

My foundation for individual therapy is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which is backed by a large body of research. This approach helps you gain insight into your thought patterns and emotions, while empowering you to alter them to think more clearly and feel more content in your daily life. 

I often pair CBT with other evidence based practices, depending on your particular goals. If your goal is to be less anxious and more engaged with your life, we may use tools from Dialectical Behavior Therapy. If your goal is to adjust to a stressful transition, we may use Narrative Therapy or Solution-Focused Therapy. If it is to heal from a trauma, we may use Cognitive Processing Therapy. If it is to improve your self-esteem we may use Internal Family Systems Therapy. Whatever change you would like to create, we can develop a strategy based on tools from these evidence-based practices to help you achieve it. 

Here are some goals we can focus on in individual therapy:

  • Reducing and managing anxiety
  • Managing and processing PTSD or other traumas 
  • Reducing and managing depression  
  • Managing stress and other emotions 
  • Improving self-esteem and self-worth 
  • Growing and adjusting as a parent
  • Increasing your emotional and cognitive awareness 
  • Healing from loss 
  • Faith or spirituality crises 
  • Managing relationships, dating, friends, family, etc. 

About Me

I was born and raised in Indiana and earned my B.S. in Psychology from Ball State University, my M.A. in Marriage and Family Counseling from Gonzaga University, and my Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Therapy from Brigham Young University. I am a fully-licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Utah and I am a Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist in Minnesota. I have been a practicing clinician for 10 years. I have also published research on therapy and I am a professor who teaches masters-level therapy courses. 

I now live in Minnesota with my wife, our son, and our cat named Leo. We enjoy spending time outdoors, fixing up our house, and spending time with family. 

 

Schedule With Dr. Brock