About Charlie Donaldson
Hello!
I have worked as a therapist for 30 years. I’m dedicated to helping men solve their problems and create new and happier lives. Men who come to me for counseling and consultation tell me I’m easy to talk to, but I also find that they appreciate my openness and honestly about my insights to their problems. Many men tell me that my guidance has helped them get out of places in which they’ve felt stuck for a long time.
What I know best
While I have the training and experience to work with a variety of clients, I specialize in counseling and consulting with men. I’ve helped thousands of men during my counseling career. Some therapists try to be all things to all people. I focus on what I know best.
My agency, The Men's Counseling Center of Northern Michigan, is devoted solely to assisting men in achieving happier, more stable, and more meaningful lives for themselves.
Building on strengths
Most men who attend counseling with me are smart and capable, and they’re dealt with many problems throughout our lives. But they’re run into an obstacle that doesn’t have an easy fix. In helping men to find solutions, I believe in building on their many strengths. For example, I have helped men to take a strength from their work-life—such as team problem-solving—into their relationships at home.
Men's issues
Here are some of the issues that I’ve helped men work through in counseling and consultation. Take a look at these questions, and ask yourself if one or more describe your situation.
Do you have relationship problems such as frequent arguments and abuse which could lead to separation and divorce?
Do you get angry too often, and do things that you regret afterward?
Do you have problems at work such as a boss who treats you unfairly or difficulties with co-workers?
Are you separated or getting divorced, and do you feel lost and lonely?
Are you an owner of a business who finds himself in conflict with his partner, or whose business is struggling to survive?
Do you struggle with depression, often feeling down and low on energy—nothing seems like much fun anymore?
Have you used alcohol or drugs too much, leading to problems in relationships, at work, or with the law?
In spite of your best efforts to avoid it, have you been violent or emotionally abusive of your wife or girlfriend or partner or children?
Are you stressed-out, feeling overwhelmed by the demands of life?
Do you struggle with anxiety, worrying too much, always looking at the bad side of things?
Have you lost a family member, friend or wife, and you can’t seem to get over the death?
Are you doing pretty well in your life, but you’d like to grow emotionally and spiritually?
Does it seem like no matter how hard you try, you just can’t get ahead?
If one or more of these questions fits you, and you feel you just aren’t making enough progress on your own, send me an email or give me a call at (231) 758-2945.
Training other therapists
Beyond my clinical work, I have trained other practitioners, giving workshops to other therapists on topics such as counseling men, treating substance abuse, and helping men with their anger. I’ve also written and published several books including Stop Hurting the Woman You Love: Breaking the Cycle of Abusive Behavior (Hazelden) and also written for journals on the subject of treatment for men and masculinity. My website, Therapist Outfitters, offers tools and guidance for psychologists, counselors, social workers, and other mental health professionals.
Service work
In addition to counseling, writing, and giving workshops, I was a founding member and served on the State Council of the Batterer Invention Services Coalition of Michigan for five years. I also acted as a treatment provider for the planning and implementation team of the 58th District Sobriety Court in Holland, MI. Beyond my MA in counseling psychology and my credential as a Limited License Psychologist in the State of Michigan, I’ve had extensive training in working with men from colleagues and mentors such as Robert Bly, Robert Johnson, John Bradshaw, and Terry Real.
Boundless enthusiasm
I divide my time between my two homes, one in Petoskey Michigan, and the other on Beaver Island where I spend summer weekends. I’m grateful for a loving community of men and women who support my work as a man and as a therapist, and for my dog, Benny, a spiritual guide whose boundless enthusiasm provides me daily lessons of the joy of living in the present.
One of my clients said
“Counseling with Charlie has changed my life. I never knew things could be this good.”