What people are saying about Dr. Francis

“I didn't know it at the time, but I had reached the point where alcohol was affecting much more of my life than I wanted to admit. Dr. Francis did not lecture me or make me feel judged. He helped me look honestly at the decisions I was making, the reasons behind them, and what I stood to lose if nothing changed. More importantly, he helped me develop practical steps that I could follow. That combination of honesty, accountability, and respect made a difference for me.”

“I originally thought gambling was my problem. Through working with Dr. Francis, I began to understand that gambling had become part of a much larger pattern in the way I dealt with stress, money, relationships, and responsibility. He helped me stop making excuses and start putting safeguards in place. It was not always comfortable hearing what I needed to hear, but it helped me begin rebuilding both my finances and the trust I had damaged.”

“After my loss, people around me meant well, but I became tired of hearing that eventually everything would be okay. Dr. Francis never asked me to forget, move on, or pretend that my grief was finished. He helped me understand that continuing my life did not mean leaving the person I loved behind. I learned that grief can become part of your life without having to become your entire life.”

“During my divorce, there were times when every decision seemed emotional and every conversation became another argument. Dr. Francis helped me separate what I was feeling from what actually needed to be decided. He continually brought the conversation back to what would matter six months or several years from now, especially where my children were concerned. That perspective helped me make decisions I could live with after my emotions settled.”

“What I appreciated most was that our conversations were about more than simply telling me to stop using drugs. Dr. Francis helped me begin looking at what was happening in my life when I used, the people and situations surrounding it, and the choices that kept bringing me back to the same place. I began to understand that changing my behavior also meant changing parts of my life. He helped me find a direction when I really did not have one.”

“I worked with Dr. Francis for years and referred dozens of patients to him during that time. Yet it was during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, when hospitals and families were facing extraordinary restrictions and uncertainty, that I came to appreciate another side of the person I knew professionally.

My sister was hospitalized and nearing the end of her life. There was no chaplain on duty, and with the difficulties and restrictions surrounding the beginning of COVID, we were unable to find anyone from our Catholic community who could come to provide the spiritual care and final rites she needed. I felt completely lost. After exhausting every resource I knew to contact, I picked up the phone and called Dr. Francis.

He told me he would make a few calls and see what he could do. Within two hours, someone arrived at the hospital to be with my sister. To my surprise, it was Dr. Francis himself. Having spent my professional life as a counselor, I had never understood that someone from a Christian ministry background outside the Catholic clergy could step forward and provide this kind of spiritual support when a priest or chaplain was unavailable. What mattered at that moment was that my sister was not left without someone beside her to pray with her and provide the spiritual comfort our family had been desperately seeking.

There was never a bill. There was never a discussion about payment, and there was no expectation of reimbursement. He simply knew that my sister and our family needed someone, and he showed up. After years of knowing him professionally and referring others to him, that experience showed me something about his character that no professional title or credential could have demonstrated. I will never forget what he did for my sister and our family during one of the most difficult periods of our lives.”

“I came to Dr. Francis because he was highly recommended, even though I knew from the beginning that his background and ministry were Christian and my own religious heritage is Jewish. I wondered whether that difference might become an issue. It never did. He did not attempt to convert me, challenge my Jewish identity, or force his religious opinions into our conversations. He listened and worked with me from where I was.

Through our discussions and some of the things he taught me, I began to understand how much Judaism and Christianity share historically, spiritually, and ethically. That understanding eventually led me, out of my own curiosity, to visit a Catholic church and learn more about a tradition I previously knew very little about. My Jewish heritage remains important to me and my beliefs remain my own, but I came away with a different understanding and a genuine respect for another faith. What mattered most was that Dr. Francis gave me the freedom to explore those questions without ever telling me what my conclusions were supposed to be.”

“I came to Dr. Francis during a period when I was questioning much of what I had believed about faith, God, and the direction of my own life. What surprised me was that he never rushed to give me religious answers. He listened, asked questions, and allowed me to wrestle with some very difficult issues without making me feel guilty for questioning them.

It wasn't until around our fifth session that I began wondering how he seemed to understand both the psychological and spiritual sides of what I was going through. I later learned about his years of involvement in Christian ministry. Knowing that gave me an entirely different appreciation for many of our earlier conversations. He had the background to approach my questions from a ministerial perspective, but he had allowed me the space to arrive at my own understanding rather than simply telling me what I should believe. That distinction became very important to me.”

“I was actually sad when Dr. Francis told me that he believed it was time for our regular counseling sessions to end. I thought counseling was helping me, so I couldn't understand why he would want to stop. He explained that I had reached a point where I was able to walk on my own, and that continuing to rely on him for decisions I was now capable of making could actually interfere with my growth. I had never had a counselor explain that to me, much less refuse to continue taking my money simply because I was willing to keep coming.

That moment told me a great deal about his honesty and the purpose of our work together. Within a matter of months, I had gone from feeling frustrated and questioning myself whenever I made a wrong decision to making decisions independently, without relying on someone else to tell me what I should do. I became comfortable trusting my own judgment, including accepting that sometimes I would make the wrong choice. Dr. Francis didn't make decisions for me. He helped me reach the point where I was confident enough to make them for myself.”

“We knew our child was struggling, but we did not know whether the problem was academic, behavioral, developmental, or something else. Dr. Francis helped us organize what we were seeing, understand the questions we needed to ask, and identify the steps toward obtaining a proper evaluation. Just as importantly, he directed and walked us through local resources available to families at no cost and helped us understand how to make the appropriate requests. Instead of somebody simply telling us that our child was having problems, we finally understood where to begin, whom to contact, and how to better advocate for our child. He gave us the guidance that we needed in a true time of need!

Our son now software engineer in the Bay area making over 200,000 per year, and a lot of that was Dr. Francis not pushing State testing scores driven to College placement. He gave our son the freedom to understand that not every child was meant for college and opened all of our eyes to the possibilities of life after High School. He never reduced our child to a test score, and looked beyond the paper"

“After what happened to me, I was hesitant about receiving counseling from a man. I had been working with a counselor I trusted, but after several missed appointments, I began to feel that I needed more consistent support. My church recommended Dr. Francis very highly, and although I was uncertain at first, I decided to meet with him.

From our first conversation, Dr. Francis made me feel respected and comfortable. He did not tell me how I was supposed to feel, how quickly I should recover, or what I needed to talk about. He gave me room to speak when I was ready and respected the things I was not ready to discuss. I never felt pressured to share more than I wanted to.

I later learned that my regular counselor had been on medical leave following a cancer diagnosis. Had I not learned the reason for her absence, I would have switched to Dr. Francis. My regular counselor is good, and I remain grateful for her care, but I have to say that Dr. Francis was exceptional in the support he provided during our time together.

He introduced me to numerous resources that had not previously been brought to my attention. Those resources helped me better understand what I was experiencing, find ways to support my own recovery, and recognize that I was not alone. They also gave me opportunities to connect with and support others who had been through similar experiences. What surprised me was how therapeutic it became to help someone else. As I listened to others and shared what I had learned, I gradually realized that I was also helping myself.

I eventually returned to Dr. Francis and told him about that realization. I had a feeling he knew all along that helping others could become an important part of my own recovery, but he had allowed me to discover that for myself.

Little by little, I began feeling that my life belonged to me again. I will always appreciate that Dr. Francis treated me as a person, not simply as someone defined by something terrible that had happened to her.”

“After attending the 2026 Desert Mental Health Expo, where Dr. Francis was the keynote speaker, I found myself thinking about my son and the amount of time he spent gaming and using his devices. During his presentation, Dr. Francis explained how gaming can become a form of escape and how certain features of online games are designed to keep players engaged and encourage them to return. I had always associated escapism with drinking, gambling, or other behaviors. It had never occurred to me that my son might be using gaming to escape from stress, frustration, or things he did not know how to express. Dr. Francis presented the subject in a way that I could understand and share with other parents. By the end of his presentation, I knew he was the counselor I wanted my son to see.

Before meeting with Dr. Francis, I had become increasingly frustrated with the amount of time my son spent online. Asking him to put his devices away often led to arguments, and I believed that stricter rules were the answer. Through our conversations with Dr. Francis, both my son and I began to understand the situation differently. He helped us recognize the circumstances that led my son to turn to gaming and educated us about how some gaming companies use rewards, progression systems, and other features to encourage extended play.

My son has become more aware of his gaming habits and is better able to regulate the amount of time he spends online, although he is certainly not perfect and we still have difficult days. Just as importantly, I have learned to regulate my own emotional response when he turns to gaming as an escape. Rather than immediately becoming upset, I am better able to consider what may be happening in his life and begin a conversation instead of an argument.

Dr. Francis did not simply help my son establish healthier boundaries with his devices. He helped me become a more understanding parent, and that has made a meaningful difference in our relationship.”

“When my child began making excuses to stay home from school, I thought it was a phase. There were complaints about stomachaches, unfinished homework, and a growing reluctance to spend time with friends. I kept encouraging my child to be more confident and not worry so much about what other children were saying. I did not realize how much was happening at school or how deeply those experiences were affecting my child’s sense of self-worth.

By the time I understood that bullying was involved, my child had become withdrawn and was beginning to believe some of the hurtful things other students had said. I wanted to fix the situation immediately, but every time I tried to discuss it, our conversations seemed to make my child retreat even further.

Dr. Francis helped me understand that my child needed more than reassurance that everything would be fine. He helped us talk about what had been happening without making my child feel responsible for the bullying or pressured to respond in a particular way. He also helped me understand how to listen without immediately taking over the conversation and how to work with the school to address the situation.

What meant the most to me was seeing my child gradually become more willing to speak openly about those experiences. We began identifying activities and relationships that could help rebuild confidence, and my child started to understand that being treated badly by other students did not determine personal worth.

There are still difficult days, and rebuilding confidence has taken time. But my child is no longer facing those experiences alone, and I am better equipped to recognize when something is wrong and respond in a way that actually helps. Dr. Francis gave us a clearer understanding of what our child was going through and helped our family find a way forward together.”