By Saul Weiss LCSW, MSS

Why I Became a Therapist: From Combat to Connection

In 1998, I began my career as a tanker in the U.S. Army. I later served on peacekeeping and combat deployments in Kosovo, Bosnia and Iraq. By 2005, I was serving as a Cavalry Scout with the 28th Infantry Division. I was trained to function in high stress and high risk environments. My mission has changed but my purpose remains the same: helping people through difficult times.

While deployed to Iraq, I was wounded by an improvised explosive device and treated at Walter Reed Medical Center. I was surrounded by injured service members, many carrying serious physical wounds. What stayed with me most was the emotional pain that often could not be seen.

These were strong, highly trained and extremely capable people who were hurting and unsure how to express it. I began to understand that healing required more than treating visible injuries and being physically safe. It required going beneath the surface and addressing emotional wounds as well. That realization began my path toward becoming a therapist.

What I Believe About Healing

Healing is not dramatic. It is not instant. And it is not easy.
Real change happens over time, in small steps.

People come to therapy when the pain of staying stuck finally outweighs the discomfort of change. My role is to help you make sense of that moment and walk through it with clarity and purpose.

We are all human, we all hurt the same way emotionally. What matters is how we respond to that hurt. I help clients let go of what they cannot control and focus on what they can. When you begin to master yourself, you start living with intention. That is when things start to shift.

Who I Work With

I specialize in working with veterans, first responders and professionals who are accustomed to functioning in high pressure and high consequence environments.

Some of my clients remain in demanding roles. Others are adjusting to life after leaving them and may feel restless, aimless or disconnected once the adrenaline has faded. I help clients navigate these transitions, reconnect with their purpose and develop healthier ways to regulate stress and emotion.

How I Work

My approach is direct, steady and grounded in evidence based care. I draw from psychodynamic therapy, Jungian concepts, cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure therapy and solution focused work.

Clients often report feeling more confident, clearheaded and grounded as our work progresses. I do not promise perfection. I offer honesty, structure and support as clients face the difficult work of meaningful change.

I have worked in crisis focused settings and supported people from many different backgrounds, including Special Forces operators, doctors, judges and athletes. Even highly accomplished people can struggle when they enter unfamiliar emotional territory. Success in one area of life does not automatically create healthy relationships or inner calm. Those abilities must be learned, practiced and strengthened like any other skill.

When Success Still Feels Empty

One of the most common patterns I have seen in therapy is that a person can appear successful by every visible measure and still feel empty inside. They may have the career, relationships, achievements and stability they once believed would make them whole.

Over time, the persona they developed to survive and succeed can stop feeling like something they wear and begin to feel like the only self they know. Beneath that identity, they may feel disconnected from meaning, desire and anything that feels truly alive.

Therapy can help a person look beneath the roles they have learned to perform, reconnect with their authentic self and build a life that feels meaningful from the inside, not merely successful from the outside.