Kick the Grinch Out: Preventing Holiday Burnout

Since 2001, I have served as Director of the KU Medical Center Counseling & Educational Support Services. As of July 2017, I also serve as Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs.  Beginning in July 2022, I also serve as director of the UKHA Wellbeing & Counseling Services.  It is a pleasure to work with the team of outstanding team members. Individuals and couples regularly seek out counseling to enhance their effectiveness in managing stress or time, overcoming depression or anxiety, improving relationships or marriages, dealing with major changes or loss, healing from a traumatic experience, and improving their self-confidence. People are constantly changing and growing throughout their lives. Counseling provides an opportunity for an individual or couple to "concentrate" the time it takes to develop. Counseling is a process where I assist individuals to tap into existing strengths for self-improvement.

I am committed to anti-racism initiatives in my professional life, and actively work in my personal life to address systemic racism that exists in our culture.  I also am a LGBTQ+ affirmative therapist and am committed to supporting the community at KU Medical Center/The University of Kansas Health System and in the greater Kansas City area.

Before coming to the University of Kansas Medical Center, I worked at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas and served for 5 years as a psychologist and Executive Director of Counseling, Health, and Career Services. My Ph.D. is in Counseling Psychology from the University of Missouri at Kansas City and I'm a licensed psychologist in Kansas and Missouri.  

In my free time, I enjoy kayaking, running, cycling, and spending time with my family. My wife Amy (or Dr. Amy Bucher) is also a psychologist and is an associate professor at Avila University. My three adult sons are Andrew, Nick and Dan. My four-legged rescued family member are Bernie and Lucy (both St. Bernard dogs).