At the heart of his training is the Fresno Family Counseling Center<\/a>. To earn his degree, Tomshak immersed himself in 600 hours of supervised work \u2014 balancing 300 hours of direct therapy with another 300 hours of clinical training and documentation.<\/p>\n \u201cThe professional growth of our students during their 600 hours of internship experience is tremendous,\u201d said Dr. Kyle N. Weir, director and clinical faculty of the center. \u201cThey start at Fresno Family Counseling Center, focusing on how to serve clients. They need the faculty to watch each session through our technology and give feedback halfway through. Gradually, they become more confident and begin to focus more on how to implement theory, enhance their diagnostic skills and develop greater clinical proficiency.\u201d<\/p>\n Fresno State students being integrated into the Fresno Family Counseling Center is a unique feature of the program that is not found at many other universities.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEach time the marriage, family and child counseling program goes through accreditation, the reviewers have consistently commented on how unique Fresno Family Counseling Center is in the nation,\u201d Weir said. \u201cOur graduates are highly sought after by community employers because they know how to do so many things at a level most other recent graduates just don\u2019t know. Our students just get more depth and breadth in their training than in other programs.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond student training, the center serves as a vital resource for the Central Valley, offering mental health care to underserved communities on a sliding fee scale. The community impact is sustained through grants, contracts and faculty who dedicate their time to supervising the next generation of therapists.<\/p>\n Once students graduate, they can carry up to 700 hours toward the 3,000 hours of supervised professional experience required to take the state test to be a fully-licensed therapist.<\/p>\n \u201cNate\u2019s experience as a combat veteran is a huge benefit. He understands how to work with trauma. The Central Valley needs more therapists who know how to work with veterans, first responders and others who\u2019ve faced life-threatening dangers and survived. Nate has been a magnet drawing people with trauma \u2013 who are often hesitant to get therapy \u2013 into clinical services,\u201d Weir said.\u00a0<\/p>\n While his initial focus was on treating trauma, Tomshak came to appreciate the importance of couples and children counseling.<\/p>\n \u201cI still love trauma work with individuals, but I really have grown,\u201d said Tomshak. \u201cI believe that somebody heals from trauma with support around them. And I believe that that trauma does leak into the rest of the family. So, finding a way to bridge that gap, to get everyone understanding and healing together, makes it more of a team effort rather than an individual struggle.\u201d<\/p>\n Family and a new home<\/p>\n In 2020, Tomshak met his wife, Esme.<\/p>\n \u201cI was at Woodward Park with my daughter, and my wife and her kids walked up, and we just started talking,\u201d Tomshak said. \u201cOur daughters are almost the same age, so they started playing, and we started talking. And then our daughters always wanted to hang out, and we all started hanging out after that \u2013 me and her, her son and my daughter and her daughter \u2013 and the rest is history.\u201d<\/p>\n They married in 2023.<\/p>\n Even while managing a family, graduate school and a caseload of 15 to 20 clients per week, and dealing with chronic pain from his injuries, Tomshak finds time to volunteer with several local veterans\u2019 organizations, including the Fresno Vet Center<\/a> and Beyond the Barracks<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tomshak\u2019s passion and dedication to helping veterans caught the attention of Operation Finally Home<\/a>, Beyond the Barracks and Lennar Homes<\/a>, who teamed up to build him and his family a custom, mortgage-free home to accommodate his battlefield injuries. He was chosen for the gift in recognition of his military service and his continued commitment to fellow veterans as a civilian.\u00a0<\/p>\n Another call<\/p>\n While studying at Fresno State, Tomshak received another call from Mario Alamillo, a friend he had served with in Iraq. Alamillo was at a low point in his life, didn\u2019t know who to trust and was struggling with harmful thoughts.<\/p>\n But this time, Tomshak was better equipped. He had the clinical tools to recognize the crisis and the resources to intervene. He offered to send him money to put gas in his car so he could come to Fresno and get help.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd so he did. I sent him some gas money. He put it in his car. He drove here.\u201d<\/p>\n When he arrived, Tomshak found out Alamillo had been unhoused for the past year and a half.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause of the education I\u2019ve got going through this program and then the support of the community, as I reached out and found things, we were able to put him up in a hotel for two months. I was able to help him find resources around town,\u201d Tomshak said.<\/p>\n Now, Alamillo has moved into an apartment, is going to barber college and works as a barber. He was also able to reunite with his fianc\u00e9e and three children, who had separated during his crisis.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNate is one of those genuine, caring and selfless types of people. No matter what, he tries to help out a lot of people,\u201d Alamillo said. \u201cHe\u2019s a good guy to have in your corner and just a good guy to have as a friend. Period.\u201d<\/p>\n Tomshak will walk across the stage at the Kremen School of Education and Human Development\u2019s commencement ceremony<\/a> to receive his master\u2019s in marriage, family and child counseling at 6:30 p.m. Friday, May 15, at the Save Mart Center.\u00a0<\/p>\n Following graduation, Tomshak plans to complete the 3,000 hours of supervised professional experience required for his state licensing and continue his work treating trauma survivors and their families.\u00a0<\/p>\n For Tomshak, the walk across the Save Mart Center stage isn\u2019t just a personal victory; it\u2019s a promise kept to the brothers-in-arms he left behind \u2014 and a new beginning for the families he\u2019s now prepared to help heal.<\/p>\n If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health or suicidal ideation, there are resources available:<\/p>\n National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 988<\/a> or 800.273.8255<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Dr.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260312Academics015-1024x683.jpg\")
Dr. Kyle N. Weir and Nathan Tomshak<\/p>\n