Who is the counselor I will be working with?

My name is David Shannon and I live in southern Minnesota, watching out for my mother who is in assisted living nearby. I am 53 years old. I have been involved in counseling, psychotherapy, and other social work since 1969.

I grew up as a Methodist preacher's kid in small-town Minnesota. I went to Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, unexpectedly on a paper boy scholarship. That turned out to be the most important part of my formal education. I came back to Carleton College as a music major, but switched over to sociology. I got my B.A., came out, and tried to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I knew that it would involve people. I had a couple of social service jobs, and then had the chance to co-found in Boston perhaps the first fulltime, full service, gay mental health service in the country (Homophile Community Health Service). I learned psychotherapy techniques from a couple of wonderful psychiatrists and other therapists associated with the service. When I came back to Minnesota, and had difficulty finding mental health work with only a B.A., I went back to school and earned my Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from the University of Minnesota. Naturally, I have learned the most from clients whom I have encountered along the way, as well as a few particularly insightful colleagues.

I am currently a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) in the state of Minnesota. I have also been licensed in clinical social work (LCSW) in Colorado, but I have let that license lapse, and it is not currently in effect. I am a member of the National Association of Social Workers.

I have a part-time job at a small, private mental health clinic, where I see a wide range of people and problems, and in particular I do group work in our sex offender treatment program. This online counseling is a private venture, however, and my employer is in no way involved in or responsible for it.

While in Colorado, I was for a time the Client Services Director for the Boulder County AIDS Project. There I helped to reorganize all client services, trained and supervised volunteers in a buddy system, oversaw a foodbank, and was the main case manager and counselor for our ever-increasing caseload. I therefore have an understanding of HIV disease and various issues connected to it, although I may be somewhat out of date on the medical aspects. With many HIV+ people living much longer now, some have been caught off guard by the reprieve and the necessity to answer the universal question: "Now what???"