About Peter Kopcha, LCSW

One of the most important factors for a successful counseling experience is the client feeling comfortable in revealing himself/herself to the counselor.  During the counseling sessions, the focus is all about the client.  However, in this space, I would like to share some personal information about myself.

I was born in Washington, DC and lived in Arlington, VA during my childhood. During my high school years, our family moved to St. Clair, PA, a small coal mining town. It is a place of good, hardworking people, and I have always been proud to call St. Clair my home. I was good at mathematics in school and so, without much thought, I attended Penn State University and received BS degrees in mathematics and physics. In 1989, after graduation, I was hired by the Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) to work at their Bethesda, MD office. Four years later, the government moved me to St. Louis. This was a joyous time for me – I loved St. Louis and I still do! I worked as a geodetic scientist for most of my career with the federal government (DMA eventually transitioned to National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)). I also earned a master’s degree in Civil Engineering from Purdue University.

While I was honored to serve our government, by the time I had reached my mid-40s, I was feeling a general frustration with my life. You could call it a “mid-life crisis”. I was tired of the technical work. I wanted to work directly with people, and I wanted to learn and experience new things. After about one year “in the fog”, I determined to pursue a career in mental health counseling. How did I come to that conclusion? Well, I was a geodetic analyst for most of my government career. Now, I wanted to listen to people, analyze their problems, and offer suggestions for their self-help. In 2012, I started taking evening courses at UMSL and, in 2018, I received a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree. By then, I was already retired from NGA and pursuing my second career full time. For three years, I worked at Mercy-South / Hyland Behavioral Health Hospital; first as a student intern and then as full-time staff. I am grateful for the opportunity Mercy/Hyland offered me to learn about the problems endured by people with psychological disorders.

At my own practice, I approach my profession with humility and utmost respect for the clients who seek my assistance. My goal is to build your trust through attentive listening and thoughtful analysis.