Francis Bax, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, MS, CPC, CASAC-Master

Hi! I’m Fran Bax, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (MHC) in New York State and a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Nevada, with over 30 years of clinical experience in behavioral health counseling. I’ve worked with individuals dealing with chemical dependency, mental health issues, and co-occurring challenges. I work with clients with a wide range of concerns, including depression, anxiety, relationship issues, career challenges, obsessive-compulsive challenges (OCD), and attention-deficit hyperactivity (ADHD). I help people who have experienced physical trauma and emotional abuse. I also work with athletes to help them improve their sports performance and mental framework. My counseling style is warm and interactive. I believe in treating everyone with respect, sensitivity, and compassion, without judgment or labels. My approaches combine cognitive behavioral, humanistic, motivational, and rational emotive counseling. I also use collaborative and systematic approaches to help my clients. It takes tremendous courage to seek a more fulfilling and happier life, and to take the first steps toward change. If you are ready to take that step, I am here to support and empower you. We can work together to develop a treatment plan that meets your unique needs. You will find support, and you will explore different ways of thinking and feeling.

I am licensed in New York State as a Mental Health Counselor, certified as an Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor, and a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the state of Nevada. I have over 25 years of experience as a clinician, training supervisor, and expert in case and care management. I use cutting-edge, evidence-based, and eclectic clinical and instructional techniques to motivate clients to consider and practice behavior change, while also supporting the human services field through training, instructing, and mentoring aspiring counselors. My career experience includes roles as a project and care coordinator, striving for excellence through time-limited, solution-focused interventions, strategic planning, and results-oriented actions. This includes proven program coordination abilities through interaction with key community leaders and stakeholders. I specialize in using motivational interviewing techniques, and I train other human service and medical providers in motivational interviewing and evaluation using DiClemente and Prochaska’s Stages of Change model. My specialties in the human services field include supervising and mentoring aspiring counselors and social workers, clinical and systemic interventions, treatment planning, and providing services to people with co-occurring addiction and behavioral health issues, including tobacco addiction. I also have significant expertise in providing treatment, case management, and supervision for individuals referred from the legal system and state parole boards, especially clients who are adjudicated or convicted of sexual offenses and other violent and non-violent crimes. I have also invested time and experience in working with amateur and professional athletes to maximize their mental capabilities and excel on the playing field. I also lead workshops, training sessions, and have taught undergraduate college courses on co-occurring behavioral health assessment and diagnosis, tobacco cessation and treatment, and the use of resiliency and humor in the treatment milieu. I earned a master’s degree in Counselor Education and Supervision from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. I am a member of the American Counselors Association and the New York State Counselors Association.