Services
About My Clients
As a gay male therapist, I work with a number of LGBTQ clients and couples. I am well versed in Ethical Nonmonogamy (ENM) and have several folks exploring or in longstanding poly relationships. I am a certified advanced alcohol and drug counselor (CAADC) in the state of Michigan and help clients examine their relationship to substances, with harm reduction being the primary goal and not always specifically abstinence. I see adults 18+.
My Background and Approach
I come from a community mental health background, where it felt like the emphasis was on paperwork and not truly client centered. By moving to private practice, I have more choice on the types of clients I work with where I feel like my skill sets and their needs are much more closely aligned. I focus on rapport building and assessment for the first several sessions, wanting to understand a person holistically before jumping into any action. I am warm and inquisitive but also not afraid to appropriately challenge clients, encourage folks to see different ways of thinking about or doing things or helping them through their cognitive dissonance. I don't simply placate clients but also understand that being stuck or having challenges with executive functioning often can occur and I have patience to help you get through this feeling of being stuck, even if it takes a while. I am a firm believer that we all can benefit from therapy, have a nonjudgmental ear to help us process.
My Personal Beliefs and Interests
We are social justice driven and also strongly believe in economic justice. When I started my practice, I was told "you cannot accept Medicaid and still be in business" and this last year, 35% of our client services were to Medicaid recipients and we are starting year 7 of our practice! As a practice we are united on 3 core beliefs: 1) Creating a safe space for LGBTQ folks and practitioners, 2) Serving persons of color and making space for BIPOC clinicians, 3) Doing our best to create access points for therapy independent of financial resources. While we are still small and cannot do all the things a large practice or company can do, we do our best to provide quality and competent care while not overloading therapists and having unreasonable caseloads.