James Pinkston, DSW, LCSW

Provider Spotlight

Health Services of North Texas welcomes Dr. James Pinkston, DSW, LCSW to the behavioral health team. James brings a wealth of experience that includes working as the clinical director of a community mental health center, supervising school-based therapy programs, outpatient services for adults and children and specialty programs such as psychosocial programs and group homes.

“I found myself in this profession because the psychology of ‘why’ people do all the things they do really became a passion of mine,” James says. “Each hour with a patient I get to explain the ‘why’ and help them discover the ‘how’ to solve or resolve the stressors they are facing. I get to spend my days helping people solve puzzles.”

When James moved to Texas, his passion for this problem-solving approach to patient care was still strong, and when he saw the opening at HSNT and their mission, he knew that it would be a great fit.

“My patient care philosophy is helping people change things through action. Most often we get hurt through making these expectations and then people not living up to that, and through therapy I help people assign realistic expectations to avoid that pitfall.”

James hopes that the patients he sees will see him as someone who is there to help, and not just “the doctor.” His ultimate goal, he says, is that people stop needing him.

“I hope my patients can take the skills and tools learned in therapy and apply it to future life stressors. They won’t need to come back because they already know how to use the skills and tools learned. A lot of people feel like they’re coming in to meet ‘the doctor’ and feel like they’re being analyzed. But doctors are just people here to help, and what I do is more collaborative than anything else.”

Dr. Pinkston is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a Doctorate in Social Work.