Zachary “Champ” Champion, Therapist
Zachary “Champ” Champion received his Masters of Social Work (MSW) from Fordham University and holds a bachelor’s degree in Outdoor Leadership from Young Harris College. Champ has experience with mental health from his time working in the NYC shelter system. While there, he worked with an entire array of mental illnesses from mild to severe and a range of personality disorders. Additionally, while in NYC, he has worked in an at-risk high school doing 1 on 1 therapy, conflict mediation, and managing crisis interventions. Champ is experienced with oppositional defiance, mood disorders, depression, and conduct issues. He recognizes that negative behaviors are a result of the child’s inability to communicate their needs successfully.
Champ is also a combat veteran, and because of his experience, he has concentrations in trauma, substance abuse, and anxiety disorders. To address traumatic experiences, he uses metaphors and rituals to gain insight in order to move past stressful moments. By using an empathic alliance, painful experiences can be processed with support and care. Furthermore, he has experience working in foster care where he got licensed in EMDR to address complex traumas better.
Champ believes in the restorative power of nature and uses it to build meaningful therapeutic relationships with his clients. Slowing down to fully experience the human condition is as challenging as it is essential. He believes in creative techniques that confront behaviors in a healthy and non-judgmental process. Moreover, he believes that by changing the environment, basic social skills can be practiced and relearned. Lastly, Champ believes that failure isn’t a negative trait, but an opportunity to learn and grow.