Mike Ege

LPC

I have been a therapist – off and on – for more than 35 years. That doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing – it means I have lots of practice. Professionally, I love working with people who are hungry to grow and have a passion to improve themselves. I enjoy helping families grow healthier and I love helping couples heal and develop a more intimate and honest way of relating.

My style of therapy is much like my life – fun, engaging, positive, creative, and sometimes a little zany. I prefer a relational style of therapy where clients can feel genuinely cared for and where rapport can be built to deal with the tougher stuff. I am trained in Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Psycho Dynamic Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and Family Systems. I particularly like Internal Family Systems and use it frequently.

I am happily married (my wife is a therapist and author), and we have 6 adult sons and 14 grandchildren. I love camping, backpacking, motorcycle riding, and fixing antiques. I was one of the youngest hang glider pilots in the nation at one time, I have summitted the highest mountain in the lower 48 states four times, and I have been riding motorcycles for more than 55 years.

I have an undergrad in human services and worked as a pastor for a decade. My master’s degree is from California Lutheran University (Thousand Oaks, Ca) in Marital and Family Therapy. I have worked in almost every environment there is, and I have dealt with a wide variety of psychological and emotional issues over the years. I have worked in several private practices, community mental health, pastoral counseling, county social work, in-person therapy, and telehealth. I have worked with the chronically mentally ill population, personality disorders, addictions, children and teens, sexual addiction, as well as the areas where folks seem to struggle the most – with depression and anxiety. I especially enjoy working with men and the issues that are unique with that audience.

I believe life is meant to be an adventure. Together in therapy, we work to help people find freedom from themselves and freedom to be themselves. Abraham Maslow created a model of understanding human development. At the top of his pyramid is what he calls self-actualization – being fully who you were meant to be. That’s my personal goal. And I want to take as many with me as I can.