A Little About the Therapist and Elevate Counseling Solutions…
Tony Langstaff specializes in working with men, women, and couples experiencing difficulties due to life changes. These changes come through within the context of relationships in our lives including our spouses, children, and other loved ones. Relationships with co-workers, peers, and supervisors may also create problems that require us to shift in how we manage our lives. Loss of a loved one creates the inevitable need to adjust to change. The same is true for the news of a new addition in your life. When we hear those words, “Uh, I’m pregnant”, life changes.
If your version of change doesn’t fit these common scenarios, that’s ok. The bottom line is: change can be hard. Many times it comes with stress, anxiety, and depression. Tony will walk alongside you through these transitions and challenges. He offers a non-judgmental, unbiased setting but will challenge you at just the right time.
Tony also focuses on issues with couples, marriages, and families. He creates an environment that respects all sides of the family unit. Each member contributes to the whole in many ways and it is important to untangle and clarify those roles, hopes, expectations, fears, and hurts. In many cases, it may be the woman in the relationship that initially requests help for the couple or the family. This may feel like an affront to some men because it may appear as a challenge to their “position”…whatever that may mean for him. However, it is important that a man learns that sustaining any position can only be done by earning the support and respect of those around him.
Who is Tony?
Tony is a Georgia and Indiana Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist. Through his own story of change, shifts, sticking points, and downfalls, he has cultivated a desire to help men navigate through their own struggles. He works collaboratively with his clients through a solution-focused process. This means while we don’t ignore the problem we work towards finding what works best.
What else can you tell me about Tony?
Tony’s personal life experience is an example of a constantly changing perspective through the “elevate” concept. He left his childhood home in California at 17-years old after enlisting in the U.S. Air Force. He trained as an Avionics Craftsman and held many other auxiliary and supervisory roles before retiring after twenty years. Through his experience living in foreign countries and various places throughout the United States, he learned the importance of respecting others’ values, cultures, and the differences in the human journey. In the years that followed, Tony worked other jobs while eventually pursuing his passion by becoming a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in order to help others. He has worked with University students, couples, individuals, families, teens, and incarcerated men in a close-security State Prison.
Tony has previously worked as the Clinical Director in a drug and alcohol inpatient facility; a Military & Family Life Counselor; a Mental Health Unit Manager responsible for assisting over 700 incarcerated men with mental health issues; and in multiple private practice settings. His goal is to help all clients to explore and uncover solutions in dealing with various challenges including trauma, abuse, and childhood neglect. Many of these individuals struggle with depression, anxiety, stress, anger, and need help learning more effective ways of managing. His hope for all his clients is to gain valuable insight and new coping skills to live a more fulfilling and “elevated” life. He believes that no matter who the client is, learning, understanding, and respect should always flow in both directions.
On a lighter note…
Tony loves spending time with his wife and their three cats and two dogs. Together, he and his wife have four beautiful, grown children who are spread across three different states. He values spending time with friends, learning new things, and reading (when he can slow down to focus). He enjoys photography, nature, and the beauty of God’s creation in the form of a colorful sunset, hiking a trail, or watching documentaries about anything to do with Alaska, traveling, or how to build something out of wood!
Why “Elevate”?
An important lesson he has learned from one of his own mentors was the notion of shifting perspectives as we are elevated from one place to the next. If you’ve ever experienced climbing a mountain, it becomes clear that the view changes with each small ascent. The view is a representation of each step you took and what you learned along the way. Although we push for the mountaintop we must learn that where we stand in the moment is an opportunity to grow. It’s your current perspective but it’s never final. The journey to the mountaintop is an experience that strengthens us and promotes growth.
Contact Tony today to take that next step!