Joe’s journey to becoming a psychologist was not a linear one. Prior to becoming a psychologist, he worked as a nurse. Here he saw firsthand the importance and healing nature of empathy, compassion, trust, open and honest communication, and placing client’s wellness at the forefront of care. As a psychologist he continues to live these values in his day-to-day practice. Joe received his doctorate in psychology from the Institute of Graduate Clinical Psychology at Widener University with a concentration in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy/Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (CBT/ACT) and Health Psychology. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the Aaron T. Beck Psychopathology Research Center within the University of Pennsylvania. Joe has advanced training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Recovery-Oriented Cognitive Therapy (CT-R), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). He worked with and received supervision from Dr. Aaron Beck, one of the creators of CBT and CT-R.
He has worked with individuals with serious mental health challenges and provided training and consultation to agencies implementing CT-R. He continues to provide training and consultation as a faculty member at The Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Joe also teaches a graduate level course, Cognitive-Behavioral Strategies in Healthcare, for nurse practitioner students at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. He is also a Nationally Registered Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).
When it comes to psychotherapy, Joe employs an action-oriented, pragmatic, strengths-based approach – he believes the best therapy comes through collaboration between equals. He believes that not everyone will benefit from “cookie cutter” therapy and places importance in identifying what is workable for each of his clients even if it might not look like “standard” therapy.