Our Approach
The central tenets of our approach are a deep and abiding affirmation of identity, a recognition of the role of trauma, and an attention to ruptures in attachment and development. We strive to provide long-term, psychodynamic, trauma informed mental health treatment that refuses to pathologize LGBTQ+ people, but rather recognizes the negative impact that societal marginalization has on the psyche.
Every psychotherapy practice approaches treatment differently. At Walnut, we have brought together years of experience, and examined our own histories in therapy and supervision, to construct a highly specialized approach to treatment. We are committed to the idea that the past makes itself known in the present and that through the therapeutic alliance we can help the past relinquish control over our daily lives.
"The therapeutic relationship is as powerful, if not more powerful, than the particular treatment method a therapist is using."
- John C. Norcross, PhD, ABPP
We are here to treat, learn, and grow together in a way that honors complex psychological functioning and the interplay among identity, development, and attachment. We will see anyone. We are committed to ultimate inclusion and treatment transparency. We don’t see ourselves as the experts, but as partners on the path towards wellness. We see the world as one that suffers with profound unwellness and consider that fact, before localizing the possibility of unwellness in individual minds.
WE Do
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Provide trauma-informed psychotherapy
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Work with clients for the long-term
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Require weekly appointments
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Specialize in working with LGBTQ individuals
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Coordinate care with medical providers
WE DON'T
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Offer psychiatry or medication management
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Provide short-term treatment lasting under 3 months
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End treatment before you're ready
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Turn anyone away based on identity
