Jim received a Masters in Social Work from Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago where the emphasis is on social justice and personal resilience.
Jim’s clinical areas of interest are anxiety and depression, bipolar disorder, stress management, coping skills, mindfulness, chronic and persistent mental illnesses, substance use and recovery, compulsive behaviors such as sexual addiction and gambling, life transition issues, job change and loss, grief and loss, shame, anger, family of origin issues, relationships with family and peers, identity development, coming out, transgender issues, bisexuality, gay and lesbian issues, married and formerly married gay men, non-traditional relationships, health and body issues, self-esteem, sexual health, living with chronic illness, HIV, and serodiscordant relationship issues.
Professional Affiliations
- National Association of Social Workers, (NASW)
- Illinois Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Professional Certification Association, Inc., (IAODAPCA)
- WPATH, The World Professional Association for Transgender Health, Inc.
- Employee Assistance Professionals Association, Northern Illinois Chapter
- The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance – Greater Chicago Chapter
- Association for Contextual Behavioral Science
- Social Welfare Action Alliance
I have over 15 years of experience in community mental health, working with individuals who were diagnosed with severe and persistent mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
I am trained a sex therapist by Dr. Domeena Renshaw and I provide sex therapy around a wide range of issues including but not limited to: sexual intimacy problems, low sex drive, or differing sex drives in relationships, BDSM/kink, polyamorous or non-monogamous relationships, sexual issues related to chronic illnesses such as cancer, stroke, HIV/AIDS & depression. For many years I ran cancer support groups through LCCP & Gilda’s Club of Chicago.
As a consultant and trainer, I am passionate about educating medical providers to be culturally competent, specifically as it relates to gender & sexuality issues, so that no person feels like they have to educate their health care provider themselves in order to receive competent services.