(Using this as a landing page for anyone looking for remote therapy. To learn more about my general thoughts on therapy topics, please check out my blog posts)

I work as a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, primarily through systemic and existential models. My private practice involves remote therapy, and I’m open to new clients at this time.

No matter what modality a therapist uses, the two most important things required for growth in therapy are that 1) the client wants to change, and 2) the client trusts and feels comfortable with their therapist. I assume that every client I see wants to change, and so I focus on ensuring that I’m the kind of therapist they need: empathetic, curious, non-judgmental, and knowledgeable of the best practices for whatever challenges they’re struggling with.

My model of therapy is non-hierarchical. As the therapist I have education and experience, but the client always has expertise on their own life, history, and what works and doesn’t work for them. I utilize evidence based therapies (such as CBT/DBT, Internal Family Systems, Solution Focused, and Narrative therapy), and my focus is always on ensuring that I’m not just providing a non-judgmental ear, but also access to a knowledge base and depth of experience that can supplement the client’s own understanding of their life and difficulties to achieve measurable growth.

I believe the goal of therapy should always be to give the client tools and understanding they need to figure out not just how to overcome their current challenges, but also others they may encounter in life. To that end, therapy is a place for open exploration and learning what can be done differently to achieve goals that will lead not just to happiness now, but flourishing throughout life.

I’ve assisted clients going through everything from divorce to grief to addiction to depression, and have the most experience and knowledge with interpersonal and relationship difficulties, as well as self-insight and self-esteem. Among other things, I’m happy to teach meditation and Focusing to any clients who believe it might be helpful to them.

If you’re looking for remote therapy, email me at damon@polarisguidance.org to discuss rates and availability.

I also “specialize” in therapy for those in the Effective Altruist and rationalist communities, who may have an extra hard time finding therapists who share their values and methods of thinking about themselves and the world. This often includes difficulties with motivation, guilt about impact in the world, desire for evidence-based methods of determining a course of action, therapy for non-monogamous relationships, and having a philosophy of grief and hardship that doesn’t include spirituality or religion.