Dan Schmitt (He/Him/His)

Whether clients are in a new relationship and want to work on building a solid foundation for their relationship to grow or for clients who have been partnered for several decades and need help to reconnect, relational therapy can help. This includes helping clients establish healthy communication patterns, providing a safe place to discuss intimacy, sex/sexual exploration/non-monogamy, infidelities, parenting, financial issues, and roles/responsibilities in a shared home.

Addiction is a democratic disease and does not discriminate who it impacts. Addiction is traumatic and complicated both for the person using and for family members and loved ones. As a therapist I view addiction as being symptomatic of other issues impacting a client’s life. Addiction and recovery is often a nonlinear path and looks different for each person. As a therapist I do not see one “right way” to move to recovery but rather help clients find the path that fits them.

Life transitions can take many forms and come at any age whether it is a new relationship, a growing family, the launching of a child, navigating emerging adulthood, marriage, divorce, career changes, or the loss of a loved one change is a constant in our lives. Often times it is during these times of change when we struggle the most emotionally. What once was familiar and knowing is now ambiguous and unknown.

As a person-centered therapist I approach my work with clients by fostering a therapeutic enviornment. By providing clients with unconditional positive regard, emotional congruence, and empathy, the space for change is created. Working with clients in a collaborative manner I strive to help them develop congruence that better fits their own personal narrative.

As a systems based therapist I see clients from an ecological perspective. Individuals are seen as part of a system of interactions and relations to others in their environment, rather than individuals being autonomous entities independent of their surroundings and context. By addressing breakdowns within a system and the relations and communications within its contextual setting, problems can be addressed in a greater holistic manner.

I believe we all story our lives against the backdrop of our personal discourse, family discourse, and societal discourse. Some of the stories we identify with have been beneficial yet others have been less helpful or even hinder us to reach the goals and contentment we seek. I work from a strengths-based approach to work collaboratively with clients to create change and to coauthor their stories and strive for the change they are seeking.

As a Person-Centered therapist I strive to create a therapeutic environment that fosters acceptance, congruence, unconditional positive regard, and empathy. As a Person-Centered therapist I believe that clients possess the necessary tools to create the change they desire. I work collaboratively with clients to help them re-author their personal narratives to realize their own potential for growth and develop greater congruence within themselves.

Relationships take work and effort. At times relationships can feel effortless and that this signifies our compatibility and at other times relationships take work and it is natural to question if things should be this hard if a relationship is meant to be. As a therapist I see relationships as a dynamic created between two (or more) people and when a relationship is struggling the work is how to address this dynamic and our response to it.

Developing acceptance, compassion, and kindness towards ourselves is a lifelong practice. The person we have the most conversations with throughout our lifetime is ourselves and it is worth examining what those conversations regularly look and feel like. I work with clients to cultivate their strengths, find acceptance for the unique person that they are, and develop a sense of congruence. By examining our own narratives and where they come from we can change our story for the better.

Depression is complex and nuanced. Rather than depression I view it as depressions--being multifactorial and impacting us in various ways. Depression can come from a feeling of hopelessness and being stuck in life with seemingly no way out of the situation we are in. I work with clients to understand their symptoms, where they have come from, and work towards developing a sense of hope through the cultivation of change for a new desired outcome.

Depression is complex and nuanced. Rather than depression I view it as depressions--being multifactorial and impacting us in various ways. Depression can come from a feeling hopelessness and being stuck in life with seemingly no way out of the situation we are in. I work with clients to understand their symptoms, where they have come from, and working on developing a sense of hope through the cultivation of change for a new desired outcome.