Dennis W. Muri, LCSW, LAC

Dennis was born and raised in southeastern Montana, lived in the Seattle area for fifteen years (where he raced sailboats), and then returned to be closer to family. He is a survivor of trauma, worked as a special educator in the Seattle School district for twelve years, also worked in the addictions field here in Billings for five years, and values veterans and older community members. His passions are Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), people with special needs, grief/loss, the elderly (AKA wise and experienced), veterans, and helping people in crisis in general. Dennis understands how easily addiction can subdue someone dealing with crises. He also realizes that keeping one’s guard up at all times can appear a necessity for survival in this challenging world. Yet, we now have neurological evidence that chronic stress reduces our ability to effectively manage activities of daily living.  Dennis is also passionate about how the brain works and how it influences our ability to function in a healthy manner.

Dennis is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and a Licensed Addiction Counselor (LAC). Social Work is a “systems perspective” that focuses on stabilizing the multiple chaotic factors that support crises in one’s life, e.g. family/relationship problems, addiction, low self-esteem, unemployment, financial concerns, etc. It also is a strengths-based perspective. “Strengths-based” means looking for what the client is doing right, especially during crises when nature encourages us to make poor emotional decisions rather than rational decisions. As a therapist, Dennis strongly believes in and relies on both stabilization of chaos and a focus on strengths.