“Aspiring to Live Out Our Very Best Selves Possible.”
Jay Griffith, IMFT, provides his counseling services, to Individuals & Couples, under the company name of “Restorative Solutions Now.” He maintains a local, private practice, here in Newark, Ohio, at the Newark Church of the Nazarene, on Williams Street. His focus is in providing a more holistic approach to therapy that considers: 1) the emotions that are connected to our historical streams of thought and self-image, 2) the thoughts themselves, 3) the often reactive behaviors we then live out as a result, and 4) the levels of consciousness and spiritual energy (of fear &/or love) that we engage people and life with, in how we are with and for one another when we are with them, or within ourselves, moment to moment, each day we live, and circumstance or challenge we face.
Mr. Griffith has now enjoyed 7 years of experience as a Marriage and Family Therapist, serving youth, teens, early adults, couples and families, in areas schools and churches, group homes, at a regional college, and in a drug & alcohol recovery program, all in Fresno, California. After he moved his family to his hometown of Newark, Ohio, in 2014, he worked as a family therapist for one year at the public mental health facility of Behavioral Healthcare Partners of Central Ohio. In February 2015 he began his own private practice, which he made his full-time focus in June 2015.
His desire to specialize in counseling began while serving for 10 years as a restorative justice volunteer mediator, a paid staff member, mediation trainer, mediation specialist, and lastly as director for two years, for the Victim Offender Reconciliation Program of the Central Valley (V.O.R.P.). V.O.R.P. continues to be an active local, faith-and-community based mediation service in Fresno, California, providing alternative sentencing support to youth offenders and meaningful redress for those most directly impacted by juvenile crime. The peacemaking and conflict skills he learned there continue to inform a good deal of his cognitive and behavioral work with his clients today.
Through these hands-on experiences, among diverse populations, be it: mental health, health, age, and gender-wise, and among those with varied sexual preferences, ethnic and religious traditions, socio-economic experiences, and even addictive and criminal histories, he has continued to be strengthened in his desire and ability to work with a broad cross-section of people towards their own best personal, relational, social, vocational, and aspirational aims and goals.
His spiritual faith and religious training have taught him that despite the imperfect nature and nurture of all people, and the world in which we live, there exists a very real need for all of us to know and experience right-relationships in our everyday life, work, and play experiences. Such living, he believes, inspires and encourages us to create more positive and good things to happen for not just ourselves, but for the good of those we live among, both within our families and one’s local community.
Therefore, counseling for him brings together the very best of both spiritual understandings and psychological considerations, inviting one to aspire towards improving the quality of relationships we keep, while also improving our own private sense of well-being. He believes this is achievable, as we experience and find strength in the mutual support and encouragement of one another, but also in improving our own sense of self-awareness and choice, in all that we do. This kind of living allows us to know and to live out, “our very best selves possible,” each and every day, no matter whom we meet, live with, or serve, every day.
Personal, Professional, and Other Significant Life Experiences:
- Moved Family to Ohio to be near to my parents & our children’s grandparents (May 2014-present)
- Private, Pastoral-Care, Counseling Services, Fresno, CA (2014)
- MFT Internship with Family Foundations Counseling Services, LLC, Fresno, CA (2009-2012)
- Master of Arts (M.A.) Degree in Marriage, Family, & Child Therapy (2007-2009)
- San Joaquin School of Law, Fresno, CA (2006-2007)
- Stay-At-Home Dad, Fresno, CA (2002-2006)
- Masters of Divinity Degree (M.Div.): Peacemaking and Conflict Studies (1992-1996)
- Mediator, and later Director, for Non-Profit, Mediation Services of The Victim Offender Reconciliation Program of Fresno, CA (1992-2002)
- Inline Speed Skater and Endurance Cyclist (1987-2003)
- Bay Area & Central CA Sales Rep, with Diebold, Inc. (1985-1992)
Mental Health Service Work Here in Ohio:
- Restorative Solutions Now Counseling Services: Full-Time, Fee-Based, Private Practice MH Services, Newark, Ohio (February 2015 – present)
- Behavioral Healthcare Partners of Central Ohio: Insurance-Based & Grant Funded, Public Mental Health Services, Newark, Ohio (June 2014 – May 2015)
State of Ohio, Marriage & Family Therapy License:
- Independently Licensed By: “The Counselor, Social Work, and Marriage & Family Therapy (CSWMFT) Board of Ohio” (2018-2020), License #F.1400008