Liza is the Director of  Marriage and Family Therapy Services and is a clinical member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT).   She received her Master's Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Appalachian State University in 1999 and began her private practice at that time.  Prior to her graduate school training, Liza worked as a rape crisis counselor, assisting child victims and their non-offending family members through the process of healing from abuse -- including accompanying them to the hospital, the police station, and even to court. She also spent time as a domestic violence counselor and as the Director of Communications for the YWCA in Raleigh, NC. 

Liza specializes in Marital and Couples Therapy, as well as family and individual therapy.  She is a "Marriage-Friendly Therapist." This means she possesses many years of training, has demonstrated a high level of competence with Marriage and Couples Therapy, values the institutions of marriage and life-long commitment, and is dedicated to helping marriages succeed, if at all possible. 

"I consider it my personal mission to reduce the divorce rate in the United States... one couple at a time.  But preventing divorce will only be succesful if in place of unfulfilling or chronically dysfunctional marriages, couples develop truly thriving marriages and deeply fulfilling relationships."
                                                                
                                                                        ~ Liza Shaw 


David Kadans, MA

is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.

"I have learned that we all have the ability to become more than we ever dreamed of being."

David received his Masters Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at Appalachian State University in August 2007 and his Bachelor of Science in Psychology at Appalachian State University in 1997.  He is an Associate Member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy and the North Carolina Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (NCAMFT).  During his graduate school tenure, David served as Student Representative for the NCAMFT Board of Directors. David has been working in the field of mental health since 1997, serving a diverse population of clientele from all ages and socio-economic groups.  He served as the Director of a homeless outreach program in Denver, Colorado, supervised residential treatment facilities for high risk adolescents, and provided family advocacy for multiple years.

Since 2007, David has provided Individual, Family, and Couples therapy. He is an advocate, coach, parent, therapist, support, spouse, and friend. He is trained in “Love and Logic Parenting” and has been teaching this highly regarded program since 2003.  David also successfully utilizes this parenting method with his own family.

David’s many years of training and experience have resulted in a high level of competence treating challenges such as post traumatic stress, self-harm, eating disorders, depression, low self esteem, oppositional defiance, troubled teens, divorce and separation (reducing negative impact on families), blended families, domestic violence, and employment and educational challenges.  He is highly skilled in helping children and adults using play and expressive arts therapies, accessing community resources, assisting disabled children and their parents, reducing affects of reactive attachment disorder on parents and coaching parents through therapeutic process, working with the foster care system, school system, and working with legal and DSS systems with children and adults. He has a background in substance abuse counseling and worked for the NC Methamphetamine Initiative in Boone, NC as a Graduate Intern.  David has such a diverse array of experience it allows him to help with the many challenges families face in today’s world.