Experience
As a therapist, Tyler’s experiences in various clinical settings have provided him with the knowledge and skill to be an effective counselor for you. He began practicing as a therapist as an intern at the Center for Marriage and Family Therapy in Jackson, MS, where he provided of over 500 hours of clinical therapy to individuals, couples, and families, and received over 100 hours of direct supervision as well as case review from experienced clinicians. He also completed internships with Three Oaks Behavioral Health of Ridgeland, MS, co-leading groups with dual diagnosis and mood disorders, as well as the Mississippi Children’s Home, where he worked with groups of children ages 6 to 11. After completing these internships, Tyler had the opportunity to work in different community agencies counseling clients with mood disorders and addictions, as well as treating entire families with troubled teenagers in an in-home setting.
In 2010, he returned to school to complete his doctoral work with a focus in counselor education. During this time Tyler completed a three-year assistantship where he gained valuable knowledge and skill teaching graduate level counseling courses, conducting research in the field of counseling, and providing group and individual therapy. He also served as a coordinator for a program designed to assist students on academic probation reenter the college environment and apply specific skills for being successful in the classroom.
Upon completion of doctoral work, Tyler began working as the Pastor of Counseling and Care for Christ City Church in Memphis, TN, where he saw various clients for a variety of personal and relational issues, including infidelity, marital communication and conflict resolution, familial relationships, depression, anxiety, abuse, addiction to pornography, and premarital counseling. He also began a post-graduate supervision process, receiving over 200 hours of direct oversight of his work from experienced clinicians en route to becoming a licensed marital and family therapist, as well as a board certified and licensed professional counselor. He also had the opportunity to teach various graduate counseling courses as an adjunct professor at Harding School of Theology and the University of Mississippi.
After opening originally in the Memphis area, Tyler was hired at Richmont Graduate University in Chattanooga, TN as an Assistant Professor of Counseling. He has continued to practice part-time in addition to fulfilling his teaching obligations, and he has found that being full time in the field of teaching has only served to enhance his clinical practice. From there, in 2020, he was excited to expand Scout by hiring to the team, which now includes Amy Achata, Amy Fowler, and A.G. Estes, as well as opening a new location in Downtown Chattanooga. This has allowed Scout to become one of the premier practices in the Hamilton County area, with clinicians that have expensive training in relationship and trauma counseling.
Tyler and the Scout team have had the opportunity to receive training and guidance from some of the most respected clinicians, including the Gottman Institute, and many other secular and Christian counselors in the field on treatment of issues, depression, infidelity, and recovering from sexual abuse. Tyler has also been ranked as one of the top five marital therapist in the state of Tennessee according to Rank My Therapist. But most of all, each clinician at Scout has had the experience of a life lived with challenges and obstacles, and would love the opportunity to walk with you on your journey to help you find your way.
What's In a Name?
The name Scout came from a vision formed with the help of some good friends as a merger of the current two fold meaning of the word as a person sent out ahead of a main force so as to gather information about the enemy's position, strength, or movements as well as the act of gathering such information, the Old French meaning of “escouter”, meaning “to listen”, and as a word very close to an important part of my past.
As counselors, our job is multifaceted. Our primary goal is to listen to you in order to understand your life, your challenges, your enemies (be they personal, marital, or familial) and then use our knowledge and training to assist you in understanding and dealing with those enemies. Our hope is through our “scouting” efforts, we can help you see how you might respond differently and get direction, hence the compass, to the enemies in your life.
Aside from being a nice play on a word, Scout has personal meaning as well. As an accomplished Boy Scout, Tyler obtained many merit badges and participated in lots of events and gatherings designed to equip him for various situations. He was challenged to do just about everything, from start a fire without a match to building a shelter from sticks and leaves. One particular challenge was finding his way through the woods, blindfolded and in the dark. “It was lonely, scary, and very difficult…” he says, but he “learned a great deal about using my other senses and seeing without my eyes.” Counseling is a similar experience of developing your awareness and other senses when working with us as your counselor. We see our role as helping you, our clients, find your way through the darkness of life by teaching you to see what you cannot see at the moment- your inner skills and abilities, your inner compass, to pilot the challenges in your life.
In a phrase, Scout Counseling exists to listen to your heart, provide you with insight about the challenges in your life, and teach you to use the compass of your soul to navigate your path.