Ron Ganze
Associated Counseling Professionals
About Ron Ganze
In 2002, I was in a Ph.D. program in English at the University of Oregon, researching individual identity in medieval literature. Feeling limited by research in the humanities, I turned to the sciences, thanks to a new book on an endcap at Barnes & Noble: The Blank Slate, by Harvard professor of psychology Steven Pinker, which called into question common assumptions in the humanities and provided this reader with a primer in neuroscience. Simultaneously, I was on a personal journey: I was adopted back when “open adoption” was uncommon at best. I’d only had mild curiosity regarding my birth parents, but various triggers prompted curiosity about where I had come from, to whom I am related, and how finding out might affect my understanding of myself. It took sleuthing and persistence—aided by a social worker in 1969 who “accidentally” left the name of my birth mother where my parents could read it and a kind stranger on the internet who found my unamended birth certificate on microfiche—but I found my birth mother. What I learned profoundly impacted my understanding of how we become the individuals we become—and also the individuals we don’t become. I had a new set of lenses for seeing myself, other people, and my relationships with them. I also gained new skills for my work: as an English professor at the University of South Dakota, I could help my students navigate college more effectively, especially those dealing with substantial stress or setbacks, adding a different kind of purpose and meaning to my work. While I'd always loved teaching and research, these encounters with students inspired me to pursue additional education to prepare me for the psychotherapy I conduct today. After 25 years in academia, I returned to school and earned my masters of science degree in Counseling from UNO in 2020.
My practice focuses on adults, both individuals and couples, aged 19 and older. I have extensive experience with generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, persistent depressive disorder, grief, trauma, insomnia, change of life issues, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. In addition to “traditional” couples counseling, I also work with couples where the ADHD diagnosis of one or both partners is a factor bringing them to counseling. When working with individuals or couples seeking help for ADHD, I readily use my own experiences with late-diagnosed ADHD to strengthen the therapeutic alliance and foster a shared understanding of how ADHD affects all aspects of life, including interpersonal relationships. More importantly, I focus on what we can do to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative (as the old song lyrics go).
My background as an educator means I bring a strong focus on psychoeducation to my practice, as I believe that knowledge is power and that we need to explore all three parts of the bio/psycho/social approach to mental health together. I often use the metaphor of therapy as a class where you are the subject: we’re there to learn about you as we also learn about working with the concerns you bring to therapy. My approach is grounded in the principles and practices of CBT, DBT, and ACT, always with a strong undercurrent of existential psychotherapy that seems to grow stronger as we increasingly struggle with issues of purpose and meaning in a fast-paced, overstimulating world that often seems designed more to burn us out than to foster self-growth.
I see therapy as a process for building a more meaningful life by addressing challenges through learning skills, strategies, and techniques—and by the fundamental process of talking through them to identify underlying patterns and themes—as well as through exploring and incorporating into daily life the experiences and ideas that provide us with a sense of meaning and allow us to live fully in the present moment.
If you’re ready for thoughtful, steady, and meaningful change at a doable pace, contact us today I’d be glad to connect!
Ron Ganze, MS, LIMHP
“I use practical, down-to-earth, evidence-based therapy to help people manage anxiety, depression, ADHD, stress, and grief — often intensified by constant demands and digital distractions that never stop. We focus on understanding patterns, regulating emotions, improving attention habits, and building skills for daily life while keeping your values in view.”
