About

My professional website: http://tomcloyd.com/ There you’ll find writing and documents devoted to topics relevant to my psychotherapy clients and anyone else interested in psychotherapy and mental health topics.

About this blog’s title – “Sleight of Mind” - It’s a play on words. In my mind, such a play suggests that what may be found here is probably not to be taken entirely at face value. To put a point on it, my favored mode of expression of a mix of rigorous thoughtfulness and whimsy. This seems appropriate to me, as I find life itself to be both a very serious problem and a big joke, the punch line of which isn’t always evident. I like to be in on the joke as much as possible – but when this happens it isn’t always in the way I’d like.

So…if I’m not always having an easy time of it, why should you? (Smile…) Personally, I cannot imagine a life without laughter, in a wide variety of forms. Yet, at the same time, we must take it seriously. After all, it’s got us cornered, and the outcome of it all is well known: gravity wins.

ABOUT ME – Tom Cloyd MS MA

Here, I’m mostly in my professional persona. Mostly. As a mental health counselor in the state of Washington, USA, I provide brief and long-term counseling and psychotherapy in the Bellingham region. With post-graduate degrees in both Counseling Psychology (M.S.) and Cultural Anthropology (M.A.), I bring multiple approaches to the wide range of challenges people encounter in daily life.

I have graduate training in behavioral, cognitive, and cognitive behavioral psychotherapy (Virginia Commonwealth University), two years of professional training in Gestalt psychotherapy, and I have completed advanced training in EMDR. I have also completed training in the Kitchur model of application of EMDR therapy to difficult cases.

In recent years, I have trained as well in two versatile Ego State models for psychotherapy – DNMS (Developmental Needs Meeting Strategy) and LI (Lifespan Integration). I have also completed extended training in Ethnic Minority Mental Health issues, and numerous specialty trainings and workshops in a wide range of mental health topics, as well as extensive graduate training in formal problem solving and decision-making methods.

First as a volunteer, and later as a professional, I have worked in community mental health for over 20 years. I have extensive experience with crisis management and resolution, individual counseling and psychotherapy, couples and marital counseling, and family counseling. I have worked with diverse populations, including children, adolescents, adults, and elders, in college settings, community mental health clinics, and “street” clinics.

I was formerly the Director of the Admissions Department of Pacific Gateway Hospital, a major private psychiatric hospital in Portland, Oregon. Prior to entering private practice in psychotherapy, I was for several years Program Manager of the Grand Coulee branch of Grant Mental Healthcare, the principal mental health services agency in Grant County, Washington, as well as County Designated Mental Health Professional for the region, which encompassed a portion of the Colville Indian Reservation.

Although a committed generalist, I have a particular interest and skill in anxiety disorders, especially those involving emotional, physical, or sexual trauma. Treatment of posttraumatic stress, and the depression and physical symptoms that often accompany it, occupy a significant portion of my clinical service time. A wide range of other concerns have also received significant attention in my practice, including: depression and other mood disorders; schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders; relationship, sexual dysfunction, gender-related, and sexual identity problems; adjustment disorders; compulsive behavior disorders; and many others. I particularly enjoy working with couples and with parents.