Professional Background 

      I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the state of Florida. I have a Master's Degee in Experimental Psychology from New Mexico State University. I have over 35 years of experience in various clinical settings. I began my career in the late 1960's with an internship in clinical psychology with the Illinois Dept. of Mental Health.  Eventually, I was designated the team leader of a 7-person treatment unit delivering services to children and families in a 2-county area of Northern Illinois. 

      In 1972, I relocated to Florida.  I worked in community mental health centers, in a hospital-based substance abuse program, in a pain management clinic and in several partial hosptialization programs for the chronically mentally ill.  Currently, I am in private practice with offices in Orange City and Longwood. I have also worked contractually through several agencies in Daytona Beach. In my contractual work I have done dozens of Comprehensive Behavioral Assessments on children in shelter homes and foster care.

      I specialize in the treatment of clinical depression, bipolar illness, anxiety disorders, addictions, ADHD and in relationship problems.  My treatment approach is multi-faceted, but rooted in decidedly Judeo-Christian values.

Personal/Spiritual Journey

      I am a native of Port Clinton, Ohio. During high school my mother moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico. I lived there for eight years and received both a B.A. and an M.A. in Psychology from New Mexico State University.  I was raised in the Lutheran Church, but I attended a Catholic boarding school in the fifth grade and was greatly impacted by that experience. I did not cope well with adolescence and I became an avowed agnostic at the age of 13, but like many "agnostics" I continued to search. 

      I dabbled in philosophy, metaphysics, oriental religions and New Age beliefs. Then one sweltering evening in September, 1979, I encountered the Triune God.  In desperation, but with few expectations, I prayed the sinner's prayer and asked Jesus to come into my life.  The answer was electrifying and undeniable even to a hardened, scientifically trained skeptic.  The words formed in my thoughts: "Carl, where have you been all these years? I've been waiting for you."  Hearing that Voice in my mind was quite unlike any thought I'd ever experienced before. 

      Though, in a sense, everything became new that evening in 1979, growth toward Christian maturity was slow in coming. It was hampered by not participating in regular worship or having consistent fellowship with others in Christ's Body.  That process  greatly accelerated in 1993, when I began attending Northland Community Church of Orlando. 

      In 1998, I began teaching a class at Northland focused on helping others cope with clinical depression and bipolar disorder. These mood disorders are of special interest as I am the child of two seriously bipolar parents, and I have coped with chronic depression myself since adolescence.  In addition to this class/support group, I have been a co-facilitator in a divorce recovery group and have participated in the singles ministry, mission trips and a street ministry for the homeless.

      Its one thing to hear about God's love and leading at church and thru books, but its another to experience it in your personal life. Friends and spiritual mentors who have been and still are:  Dr. Del W. Jones, Barbara Hill-Taylor, Stan Hahn and Georgia Ana Larson.

All articles and other written material on this site are copyrighted by Carl Geo. Austin and can be reprinted for commercial use only by the written permission of the author. 
Copyright © 2008 Carl Geo. Austin, all rights reserved.