About the Site & Author

Self-Reliant Wellness is a comprehensive self-care and mental wellness platform designed to help individuals, couples, and families improve both their mental and physical health through practical, research-informed strategies. The site organizes content into clearly defined domains—sleep, mental and cognitive health, physical wellness, and relationships—making it easy to find targeted support for specific challenges.

In addition to topic-based sections, the site features multiple resource libraries, including a general self-care library, a dedicated library for children and teens, crisis support resources, and curated book lists—creating a centralized hub of tools users can apply immediately in daily life.

What makes the site especially valuable is its extensive collection of articles and guides that translate evidence-based research into simple, actionable steps. Topics range from neuroscience-informed emotional regulation and CBT-based techniques to sleep optimization, nutrition’s impact on mental health, and strategies for building stronger relationships and resilience. Many articles reference scientific principles or clinical approaches and explain how they affect the brain and behavior—helping users understand not just what to do, but why it works. Overall, the site functions as both an educational library and a practical self-improvement toolkit, empowering individuals to build long-term habits, increase self-awareness, and take an active role in their well-being.

About the Author

Chris Pierce is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (CMHC) with Connections Counseling Services in Orem, Utah. As a retired U.S. Army officer with 29 years of service and five combat deployments, Chris brings both deep clinical expertise and lived experience to his work. His personal journey through trauma, therapy, and rebuilding connection gives him a grounded, compassionate perspective on healing.

Driven by his own path of recovery and resilience, Chris dedicated himself to researching self-care solutions for the physical and mental injuries sustained during military service. He is the author of Self-Health Andragogy: A Self-Directed Learning Approach to Mental and Physical Self-Care and is currently developing additional books on mental and physical wellness.

Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology, a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, and a master’s degree in Adult Education. He is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (CMHC) and a National Certified Counselor (NCC).

Additional credentials include:

• State Certified Domestic Violence Assessor
• Certified Anger Management Specialist II
• Certified Mental Health & Nutrition Clinical Specialist (CMNCS)
• Certified Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (C-DBT)
• Certified Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia & Nightmares (CBT-I, CBT-N)

Chris’s master’s degree in Adult Education supports his use of adult learning models to help clients build insight, practical skills, and emotional self-reliance. His 29 years of military service—including graduation from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and extensive leadership and project management training—inform a structured, goal-oriented treatment approach that enhances efficiency and effectiveness while remaining client-centered and tailored to each individual’s needs.

United States Army Biography

Major (Retired) Christopher W. Pierce

Chris entered military service in 1994 as a 44B (Welder) in the Utah Army National Guard, assigned to the 1457th Engineer Combat Battalion. During his enlisted service, he supported strategic missions including Operation New Horizons (Panama), the Annette Island Road Project (Alaska), and National Special Security Event support for the 2002 Winter Olympics. In 2003, he commissioned as an Engineer Officer through Southern Utah University ROTC and entered active duty.

His first active-duty assignment was at Fort Benning, Georgia, as a construction inspection officer with the 36th Engineer Group. He deployed to Iraq, leading inspection teams for U.S. and host-nation construction projects. Following redeployment, he served as a platoon leader with the 63rd Engineer Company, returning to the Middle East to execute force-protection engineering projects, and later served as executive officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 11th Engineer Battalion.

After completing the Infantry Officer Captain’s Career Course, he was assigned as an engineer operations officer with Headquarters, 25th Infantry Division, at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, and deployed with the unit to Iraq, where he managed congressional-level funded host-nation construction contracts. Later, he assumed command of the 66th Engineer Company, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, leading training, mobilization, and deploying his company to Iraq. During the deployment, his company executed route clearance, partnered in combat engineer operations, provided explosive ordnance disposal support, and conducted base construction.

He was board-selected for a military exchange assignment, where he served as a tactics instructor at the Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering. After completion of the Command and General Staff College, he was assigned to XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, as a Tactical Command Post Engineer and deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. He later served as Battalion Operations Officer and Executive Officer with the 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, during the brigade’s tenure as the nation’s Global Response Force.

He was then assigned to the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) as Deputy Command Engineer and concluded his career in the Special Forces Human Performance and Wellness Directorate, where he led initiatives to improve family readiness, expand access to care, and integrate performance technologies. His key contributions included developing a sleep optimization program incorporating home sleep testing, education, and wearable technology.

His awards and badges include three Bronze Star Medals, four Meritorious Service Medals, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal, three Army Achievement Medals, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, three Meritorious Unit Commendations, two National Defense Service Medals, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal (four campaign stars), Army Service Ribbon, four Overseas Service Ribbons, Army Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon, Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, Sapper Tab, Parachutist Badge, German Parachutist Badge, Gold de Fleury Medal, and the Utah National Guard Commendation Ribbon.