Born and raised in Fairmount, David O’Brien currently resides in the East Falls section of Philadelphia with his rabbit (Cody) and a large freshwater aquarium.  He is a lifelong member of the St. Francis Xavier Church and is a graduate of Roman Catholic High School.  Upon graduation, David attended Philadelphia University where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology with a minor in Human Resources Management in 2002. 

In May 2002, David was hired as a Resource Coordinator for Access West Philly, which is an agency that is apart of the Mental Health Association.  His responsibilities included providing case management to individuals that have a persistent mental illness including Schizophrenia, Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorders, or Bipolar Disorder.  In 2004, he was promoted to Director of the Northeast Consumer Center followed by the Abington Consumer Center where he developed psychoeducational programs for individuals that had a mental illness or addiction.  Additionally, he met with some of the clients on an individual basis to provide talk therapy. 

In August 2004, David started his graduate studies in Community Clinical Counseling Psychology at Eastern University.  As a part of his training, he was involved in Technique courses, as well as a Practicum and two semesters of Internship.  In February 2006, David was hired as a Crisis Intervention Specialist for Main Line Health Systems.  In this role, David meets with patients that present to the Emergency Department with a psychiatric complaint.  He will perform a mental status examination and will coordinate continuing care, which may include inpatient or outpatient treatment. 

Since August 2007, he has been apart of Shalom, Inc. where he has provided both individual and group therapy to individuals with various complaints.  David received his Masters of Arts degree in Community Clinical Counseling Psychology from Eastern University in May 2008 and has earned the required educational credits to sit for the Licensed Professional Counselor examination. 

His dream for the Sherpa Center for Well-Being is that he will be able to have a facility where a person can work on their Mind (therapy), Body (physical therapy, accupunture), and Soul (spiritual adviser).  The facility would be in a rural setting, so that all of the distractions from the city could not interfere with the healing that should take place.