Aden Drolsum is fully booked.
I am a licensed clinical social worker with over seven years of experience supporting youth and young adults, particularly those navigating trauma, neurodivergence, housing insecurity, and identity exploration. My practice is rooted in cultural humility, harm reduction, and a strengths-based approach, ensuring therapy is affirming, collaborative, and client-led. I provide a safe and supportive space for individuals to explore their experiences, build resilience, and move toward healing on their own terms.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
In our first session, we’ll take time to get to know each other and ensure therapy feels like a good fit for you. I’ll ask some questions to better understand your background, what brought you to therapy, and what you hope to gain from our work together. This is also a space for you to share as much or as little as you’re comfortable with and to ask any questions you may have about the process. My goal is to create a supportive, collaborative space where you feel heard and in control of your own healing journey.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
I combine professional expertise with lived experience, creating a therapeutic space that is both affirming and client-centered. I believe my greatest strengths as a provider lie in my ability to hold nonjudgmental space, meet clients where they are, and adapt my approach to fit their unique identities, needs, and communication styles. Clients often share that they appreciate my calm and patient presence, my direct yet compassionate feedback, and the way I ask thoughtful, nonjudgmental questions to deepen insight. As a nonbinary person, I bring an added layer of empathy and authenticity to my work—offering care that feels validating, empowering, and truly grounded in understanding.
Describe the client(s) you are best positioned to serve.
I specialize in working with LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent clients, including those with ADHD, autism, or who are self-diagnosed. I serve young people navigating family conflict, housing insecurity, neurodivergence, and identity exploration—particularly those who are LGBTQIA+ and may not have access to traditional mental health care. My approach honors your lived experience, supports sensory and emotional regulation, and adapts to your communication and processing style—without pathologizing who you are. I strive to offer a nonjudgmental, affirming space where you can explore healing on your own terms and feel recognized for your strengths.
About Aden Drolsum
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Gender-affirming therapy
My practice is rooted in cultural humility, harm reduction, and an understanding that gender identity and expression are deeply personal and unique to each individual. I provide a supportive, affirming space for transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive young people to explore their identities and navigate their journeys. I have supported young people from ages 12-24 in exploring and affirming their gender in a way that aligns with their authentic selves—whether that involves processing dysphoria, navigating social or medical transition, exploring identity, or addressing the impact of external barriers such as discrimination, family rejection, or lack of access to affirming care. I am AFFIRM and AFFIRM Caregiver trained.
Attachment-based
I approach therapy through an attachment-based lens. We explore how early and ongoing relationships—including those shaped by rejection, identity-based harm, or unmet emotional needs—may influence your current ways of relating to others and to yourself. Together, we use insight from those past connections to gently reframe and reshape the habits, thoughts, and beliefs that may no longer serve you. Through a safe, collaborative relationship, we work toward building a stronger sense of security, self-trust, and connection.
Compassion Focused
I integrate Compassion Focused Therapy with tools from AFFIRM, a gender-affirming adaptation of CBT designed to support LGBTQ+ individuals navigating stress, identity-based harm, and self-criticism. This approach helps us understand how our brains and bodies respond to fear, rejection, and shame—and how we can gently shift inner narratives rooted in past trauma or marginalization. Together, we work to build self-compassion, emotional resilience, and a more supportive internal voice. Whether you're exploring identity, healing from trauma, or unlearning harmful messages, therapy becomes a space where compassion is both a tool and a right.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
I use mindfulness-based techniques to help clients slow down, notice what’s happening in their bodies, and build the tools to respond to big emotions with care rather than fear. For trauma survivors, LGBTQ+ clients, and neurodivergent folks—especially those who’ve experienced overwhelm or disconnection—mindfulness can offer a gentle way to reconnect with yourself and your needs. In session, we take our time when strong feelings arise, using grounding, breathwork, gentle movement, and body awareness to build emotional regulation and resilience. These skills can support you not just in therapy, but in navigating stress and anxiety outside of session too.
Trauma Informed Care
My practice is grounded in trauma-informed care, which means I center safety, trust, and collaboration in everything we do. I recognize that trauma can impact the body, mind, and relationships in complex ways—and that healing happens at your pace, not anyone else’s. I support clients in managing overwhelm and emotion regulation with grounding, mindfulness, and DBT-informed tools. I’m also mindful of how trauma intersects with neurodivergence and identity, and I offer space that honors sensory needs, communication styles, and self-defined goals. Whether you're navigating past harm, systemic oppression, or daily overwhelm, I aim to create a space that honors your lived experience, supports your autonomy, and helps you reconnect with your inner sense of safety.