About Bruce

“The Option Method takes unhappiness from that vague cloud of confusion and that which just happens to you and brings it down to the real dynamics that cause your emotions . . . your beliefs and your judgments.” Is Happiness a Choice? The Option Method Philosophy by Bruce M. Di Marsico

Bruce first studied for the priesthood.

Bruce first studied for the priesthood.

The founder of the Option Method, Bruce Di Marsico, originally studied for the Catholic priesthood. Recognizing that what he was searching for was not within the confines of the monastery, Bruce then studied psychology and philosophy in the 1960s at Seton Hall University, New Jersey, where he began to find his true calling. Years later while at work as a psychotherapist and human relations consultant, he developed the Option Method. Through his experiences with clients and his own self-exploration, he formulated his own insights into the reasons why people were unhappy.

Bruce enjoys some holiday cooking

Bruce enjoys some holiday cooking.

He introduced his method in New York City in 1970 at a paraprofessional school for group counseling and therapy called Group Relations Ongoing Workshops (GROW). GROW offered certificates and training exclusively in such subjects as Group Encounter, Psychodrama, Gestalt Therapy, Sensitivity Training, Existential Analysis, and much more. The human potential movement was under way. Most of the movement’s concepts we take for granted today, in this age of self-awareness and self-improvement, but at the time this movement was new and exciting.

Bruce continued to teach his method for over 27 years until his death in 1995.

Updated July 13, 2009