Matthew McLean, LMFT (He, Him, His)

What's My Approach to Therapy?

My Practice & Services

* I specialize in self-esteem, depression, anxiety, stress management, adjustment, relationships, and stage of life issues
* Over a decade of experience working with people in the motion picture industry
* LGBTQ, polyamorous, CNM, ENM allied
* Experienced working with entrepreneurs, founders, and businesspeople
* Lifetime member of the Entertainment Industry Therapist Finder (EITF), now managed by GoodTherapy.org
* Member of both CAMFT and good therapy.org for 12 years
* Currently accepting new individual adult clients

Specific Issue(s) I'm Skilled at Helping With

The issues I work with the most: anxiety, depression, self-esteem, self-advocacy, relationship issues, stage of life issues, stress management, career changes, loneliness, divorce recovery, and finding a path that makes you happy. I do this work because I genuinely love helping people build confidence and self-esteem to be happier and improve their lives. A lot of this involves helping people differentiate from their families of origin, or stop being stuck, either in the past or in a rut.

I am a firm believer in taking action, and I know the only way to really change anything is to do things differently. Sometimes, making changes requires examining your motivation for why you have been doing things the way you have in the past. Figuring out what is keeping you stuck is an important step in the process.

I work with people in many fields. Before becoming a therapist, I worked in a variety of capacities in the business world including: information technology, project management, business and systems analysis, management, sales, and marketing. I know what it is like to deal with big responsibilities, deadlines, overload, pressure, terrible bosses, workplace bullies, M&A, RIFs, etc. I have been there. I can help you learn to manage the stress and find a healthy work-life balance built around your priorities.

Motion picture industry: I work with people from many areas of the entertainment industry: crew, executives, writers, editors, talent, art dept., costumers, producers, musicians, lighting, etc. I understand the demands a career in the industry places on you. I can help you find healthy ways to manage the stress, figure out what self-care looks like in your world, and make the most of your precious free time so you can lead a happy, healthy life.

My Role as a Therapist

My role as a therapist is to be in your corner, helping you address the issues which brought you here today. I can help you figure out why you may be stuck, and help you identify resources and strategies to get you unstuck. We will work together to help you make the changes necessary to create the life you really want. I can help you chart your path, set goals, and identify specific actions to take to get you moving in the right direction.

My Therapy Focus

First and foremost, my focus is always on helping you achieve the goals you establish in therapy.

I am a person-centered, collaborative, solution-focused (SFT) therapist who employs Narrative and Family Systems theory and interventions. I studied postmodern methodologies as areas of professional concentration in graduate school, where the MFT program was largely rooted in Family Systems theory. I have also studied Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Positive Psychology. I utilize methods and interventions from each as needed.

There are a lot of theoretical models of psychotherapy out there, and trying to figure out which one may be best for you can be very confusing. There is no best answer for everyone. The following are the methods I primarily employ, largely because they empower my clients to become their own agents of change.

Person-centered therapy, also known as client-centered therapy is a high-effective way to help clients reduce their therapeutic goals. PCTCCT was developed by Carl Rogers, and is commonly known as ?Humanistic? therapy. This approach allows us to build a genuine therapeutic relationship based upon trust, acceptance, and respect. I let you steer the therapeutic process in the directions you most need it to go, and we will collaborate to help you grow by taking the following into account: your personal narrative, resilient traits, ability to adapt, access to internal and external resources, and experiences within your family of origin and in relationship with others. We can look at how your past experiences have shaped your beliefs about yourself and the world, contributing to patterns of behavior. I may also use utilize elements of Family Systems Therapy to explore your lived experiences in your family system in terms of the meaning they create in your life and how they affect your relationships.

Important Factors for Choosing a Therapist

Research clearly indicates the most important factor contributing to success in therapy is the relationship you build with your therapist. This is why the person-centered approach is so effective. It creates and builds upon a strong therapeutic relationship through acceptance, respect, and authenticity. To determine if we might be a good fit, I offer a free phone consultation (about 15 minutes) to discuss your needs and get acquainted. If we seem like a good fit, we can schedule a session and take it from there. It is easy to get started: give me a call or send me an email.