About Dr. Asper

Dr. Asper's background which led him to this work is a fascinating story and is outlined below.

As one of those people who didn’t know what they wanted to do in college, when pressed to finally choose a major, I selected foreign languages because of my obsession with traveling to foreign countries. I was not very good at it and didn’t like the study of languages, however four summers were spent studying, working and traveling in Europe and eventually teaching French for awhile. After completing my masters in Guidance and Counseling and practicing for three years, I realized my greatest interest was to help people solve their personal problems. So I returned to college to complete a doctorate in counseling and school psychology. Finally I knew who I was, what I wanted to do and was anxious to begin.

While I was growing up, my mother was significantly depressed on and off. Because of this my view of mental health workers was that they were caring, compassionate people whose skills were not very helpful. Later I realized there were some (not all) professional mental health workers who where very skilled and could be very helpful. Of course the client has to be committed to getting better and work hard at it to be successful.

I grew up in a small, rural community in South Dakota where my father was a mechanic and shop foreman at my uncle’s farm implement dealership. I hung out at this shop building my go cart and later working on my '35 Chevy. Scarcely a week went by that some customer would say what a great mechanic my dad was. Many years later I realized that being really good at what one does had also become my value. Consequently, after practicing for several years, I decided to go back to school for a second doctorate at great personal expense. This time in clinical psychology from a professional school where graduation was skill based. At the same time I strongly felt the practice of counseling should be the application of research, not the practice of emulating the latest guru. Therefore, I continually strive to learn new, research-based information in order to maximize my skill level.

Since I already had the standard practicum experiences, they allowed me to specialize to some degree. So, for one academic year I spent sixteen hours a week in the drug and alcohol unit at the North Chicago VA hospital. In addition, my clinical research project was on alcohol problems. This background and experience has enabled me to be especially successful at helping people deal with the stress and pain of living with someone who has chemical abuse problems.

The focus of my counseling is on solving problems in living. My emphasis is on being a good listener and not being judgmental. You see, I'm not perfect and don’t expect you to be. Most people’s problems stem from what is happening to them, not who they are. A great many problems people have are brought on by the shift from the industrial age to the information age. Many of us have not been taught the skills we need because our parents and teachers do not have these skills either. We are pioneers; we are the first people in the information age. These are not hard skills to learn, but they are very necessary in order to function in the information age with a minimum of stress.

My background includes having been a teacher, a school counselor, as well as a retired Navy Reserve psychologist. Today I am recognized as a Health Service Provider in Psychology by the Council for the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology. I have met all the standards for Certification of Professional Qualification in Psychology (CPQ) issued by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards Mobility Program.