Phillip was diagnosed with Avoidant Personality (AVP) as a young man in the United States Air Force. For many years following, Phillip lived with the illness, struggling through life. By the time he reached 40-years-old, Phillip began searching for a partner and was overjoyed to meet and marry his wonderful wife.  

For 15 years, Phillip and his wife worked to have a happy, successful marriage. Round One wasn’t easy. On the surface, Phillip had everything he wanted, but AVP was still there, slowly chiseling away at all the positive things he was building in his life. Eventually, ignoring AVP created devastation large enough that it ended Phillip’s marriage.

After his divorce, Phillip began to spiral. In the year that followed, Phillip became someone that even he didn’t recognize. Those desperate times led him to a mental health facility. As a man of strong faith, Phillip knew that God helped him find his way to people who could give him the help he so urgently needed. He learned about treatment options and put in the work. Phillip began to change and the people around him saw his commitment to bettering himself. His ex-wife was one of these people.

They started out getting to know each other once again, as friends. One year later, at the top of the Seattle Ferris wheel (her favorite place), Phillip got down on one knee and proposed. Now in what Phillip calls “Round Two” of their marriage and as parents of a teenaged daughter, Phillip founded the Avoidant Personality Research Center (APRC) with the hopes of passing on what he has learned to help others who are living through the same struggles.