Who I am and what I do
My Mission
To provide empirically validated interventions while keeping in mind that the compassionate therapeutic relationship is the most healing aspect of therapy.
My Approach
Change is occurring all the time. We are not exactly who we were the day before. This process can go unnoticed. There are lost opportunities but also examples of ways we triumph over our struggles in countless small, yet significant ways. We have great capacity for resiliency and growth, if those exceptional experiences are cultivated and not minimized. We tend to give more attention to the mistakes and potential future pitfalls than our achievements or possible future successes. The weeds are watered, the flowers are ignored, yet we wonder why the garden is such a mess.
Self-Compassion is a critical component in affecting a change that is long-standing and not fleeting. We are not our problems and though we may not have created them, we are the single most powerful agents of influence to reach for new ways of being and doing.
Counseling is a relational process that includes a range of techniques that offer tools which are informed by research and theories. The theories most influential in my work include: Social Constructivist and Narrative approaches, Internal Family Systems, Person Centered, Trauma Informed Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Motivational Interviewing, Mindfulness, Behavioral Interventions, Psycho-Educational Interventions, Interpersonal Psychotherapy, & Emotionally Focused Interventions for individuals and couples.
Professional
Over 28 years of providing clinical counseling to diverse populations in a variety of settings.
My earliest experiences include providing counseling services to financially disadvantaged college student populations at Shippensburg University in the 1990’s.
During my work at a wilderness school I provided adventure based therapy and team-building on high and low ropes courses to diverse populations including inner city adolescents, adjudicated youth, high school students, and business organizations.
In the mid to late 1990’s I served as a counselor and then as the Assistant Director of Allegheny College’s Counseling Center.
With the intention of moving closer to family I had an opportunity to return to Shippensburg University on a temporary basis as a Counselor in Shippensburg University’s Counseling Center.
Over the years since moving back to Cumberland County PA, I have returned to Shippensburg University to work a couple times as an adjunct professor to teach graduate students for the department of Counselor Education and Supervision.
I have worked in several local private practices in Cumberland County since the early 2000’s as well as being a contract counselor at Diakon Family Life services in Mechanicburg PA. I practiced at Mock-Mays Associates here in Carlisle for 15 years then in 2022 launched my solo private practice Kulas Counseling Services here in Carlisle.
Personal
Being with family and playing together.
Born near Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, but lived most of my life in central PA. Jen and I have been together for over 25 years. We traveled a lot over the years, worked, and completed our degrees.
We have been fortunate in many ways from the outside-looking-in. However, we also faced many of the challenges that life eventually offers all of us. We have experienced losses both great and small, medical and physical challenges, emotional ups and down, relationship challenges, and financial hardship. I see life as “good,” and I feel gratitude for the path I have been on. I truly would not change the paths that I have followed.
We waited to grow our family and then in 2011 expanded our family with the birth of our twin boys. We all share a love of nature and the outdoors. We all love to play outside. Our intention is for our family to have connection through many shared experiences to promote our resiliency, courage, kindness, and compassion for ourselves and for others.
Areas of Specialty
Couple’s Counseling / Family Counseling / Adolescents and the, at times, challenging relationship they can have with their families / Trauma / Grief & Loss/ Panic / Anxiety / Social Anxiety / Phobias / Obsessive Compulsive Patterns / ADD & ADHD/ Treatment Resistant Depression / Chronic & Terminal Illness / Spirituality & Faith / LGBTQ informed approach / Career & Workplace Issues / Infertility / Emotional Regulation / Mindfulness Informed Interventions and Mindfulness Based Meditation