Fred Cavaiani LMFT, LLP. Is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Limited Licensed Psychologist and a Spiritual Director. He has been in private practice for 49 years. Fred has also been a consultant for the Detroit Medical Center and Henry Ford Medical Center. Fred taught courses at Davenport University where he was twice awarded Teacher of the Year. He was a consultant and presenter of programs at Capuchin Retreat in Washington, Michigan for 10 years. Fred sends out a daily reflection to many people. For the past twenty years Fred has written a bi-weekly column called the COUNSELOR’S CORNER for the Legal News in Wayne, Oakland, Genesee and Jackson Counties. Fred does many programs on prayer and meditation and spiritual and emotional self-care. Fred has a weekly meditation hour on Thursday mornings. Fred also has worked in the field of alcoholism and drug abuse being the Director of the Alcohol Therapy program at Providence Hospital from 1972- 1976. Fred has graduate degrees in Psychology, Marriage Counseling and Psychology. He was with the Capuchins from 1958-1972 where he worked as a counselor, retreat director, and preacher. Fred has been married for 36 years and he and his wife, Alice, have three adult children and six grandchildren. His oldest daughter is a high school teacher for 22 years, with two children. His second oldest daughter, who speaks three languages, has a Master’s Degree in Science and Nutrition and also has a business with her husband and four children. His son has a PhD and is a college professor in Communication. His daughter in law, a PhD, ABD is a high school teacher. Fred has presented many programs throughout the Greater Detroit area and also the whole United States. Fred does Individual Psychotherapy and Conjoint Marriage Counseling. His whole purpose is to help people open up to their feelings and experience them so they can become emotionally and spiritually free. He believes firmly in the principle YOU CAN’T HEAL WHAT YOU CAN’T FEEL. HEALING STARTS WITH FEELING WHAT IS GOING ON INSIDE OF YOU. He also helps people learn how to meditate and open up to God more through the practice of daily meditation. Behind all anger and frustration are unlocked feelings of pain, insecurity, tension and sadness which must be experienced in order to feel. Anger is a superficial feeling which blocks us from going deeper. Joy will happen when we stop blocking what we need to feel. In marriage counseling or marital therapy, Fred makes sure that the couple talks to each other and reflects back to each other what they have heard without judgments or condemnations. His method of marriage counseling has helped many couples become much closer and connected with each other. A person can improve their life when he or she is willing to talk about their feelings and understand how their past has caused both emotional wounds and positive feelings. Our past is always in the present. Psychotherapy and Marriage counseling is to help us communicate better with ourselves and with others. It is to learn how to embrace what is painful inside of us and help us not blame others for how we have chosen to live our lives. In psychotherapy we become more open and honest with our own personal self and embrace the pain inside of us so we can heal. In marriage counseling, we communicate with one another what we are feeling inside of us without pouring blame on each other but sharing what is going on inside of us so that our partner begins to understand our joys and sorrows. Fred also does spiritual direction which is to help people deepen their experience of God by learning to practice solid spiritual and emotional principles. This is a bit different than psychotherapy and marriage counseling and concentrates more on the personal relationship each person might have with God and how to deepen this relationship. Of course, counseling, psychotherapy and spiritual direction can often overlap.
