Working with James

When you are searching for something more in life, for yourself, others, or your community — perhaps just some way to get started, or maybe some way to take things in your life to the next level — working with an experienced, dedicated, perceptive, and assertive guide may be the catalyst needed for supporting momentum, focus, new skills development, and persistence.

Currently, individual sessions are offered that can focus on exploring goals, hopes, and current challenges, facilitating joint efforts to create and refine effective strategies to support progress in learning, work, and personal life.

In the future, there will be the opportunity for participation in various classes and workshops now being developed, which will provide additional skills and support motivation. Topics may include self-concept, optimism, identifying and achieving goals, tools for getting through challenging experiences, relationship skills, decision-making, and movement education.

For more information, or to schedule a free 30-minute introductory telephone conversation to explore what is on your mind, and consider the possibility of working together, email James at sun1jar@outlook.com 

Some things you can and should do by yourself, on your own initiative, to take care of yourself, others, and the world. You can be proud of those solo achievements and how you accomplished them!

Other times, you realize that you need someone, consistently and reliably, to bounce ideas off of, or someone to give you feedback, or someone just to listen so you can objectively clarify out loud various important life matters for yourself. Maybe you have a clear vision but struggle to move it forward, or maybe you just have some hazy hunches about your vision and voice.

We are on earth for both these types of growth through reflection and action: independently and through interdependent steps. 

When you realize that you will not settle for less, but you also are not making the progress you had hoped for on your own, or turning to friends, colleagues, or family, you have the important decision to make about whether or not to engage a professional partner in at least some portion of your life journey.

How to find such a person? Your own thinking and intuition must rise to the occasion to network, research, and interview people who your preliminary research suggest might be helpful to you. Every individual person's life is always, in part, an experiment to learn what unique steps to take to grow and to discern who is reliable and competent to help, given each person's unique profile of strengths, challenges, clarity, and effectiveness.

James is a catalyst for individuals, groups, communities, and organizations who are ready for change and who are ready to address their problems and potential to move their lives to the next level.

As such, James's mission is to help others with their mission, working as a Life's Journey Counselor, thus, as an educator, mentor, and life consultant for individuals and groups. Moving away from overly academic or self-focused approaches, he focuses both one's mindset or "spirit" of living and on practical skills for living well, balancing responsibility for self with respect and support for others in a learning community. 

James has a bachelors degree (Fordham University), and masters degrees in counseling (University of Virginia) and school psychological services (New York University).

He has worked with adults, teens, and children in a variety of settings (church, corporate, government, private practice, and schools), providing consultations, learning and self-management support, and service coordination.

His thoughtful and thorough style is effective in understanding complex, subtle, and non-traditional needs and aspirations. Recognizing each individual's unique profile of strengths and challenges as they move through the stages of their lives, he helps people recognize, affirm, and move toward their full potential. 

This is the essence of being a catalyst: understanding and caring for people, sharing insights, and facilitating change, then getting out of the way so that individuals and groups can make their own changes to achieve their own goals.

James was born and reared in Connecticut, moving to New Jersey with his family at age 14. He has resided in Essex County, New Jersey for over 30 years.