Hello! I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) by education, but I identify as a mental health therapist. I received my Bachelor's and Master's Degrees from the University of Southern Indiana, and I have been practicing since just before I graduated in 2017. My preference is to help all ages of adults with anxiety, beginning with CBT and measuring progress as we go.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
In our first session together, after reviewing the limits of privacy in therapy, our goal is to gather information on what brings you to therapy. What is happening in your life that you don't like? What has changed? What is your general background as a person in society? After we gather that info, we pivot to treatment planning starting with your goal for therapy. What do you want to happen as a result of therapy? At this point, I take a moment to consider which approaches we could take to reach your goal and I give you the choice of which one you would like. Last, we talk about how often we want to meet to put that treatment plan into action!
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
With a passion for science and a gift of gab, my clients tell me they appreciate learning about themselves and how they can manage their lives in a deeper way than they had already been trying to do. My clients tell me they like how I ask for their feedback at each appointment for how they are feeling and how the session went. When my clients see or hear the difference in their symptoms in number form from tracking their progress, they can really appreciate their recovery and remember how difficult it was 10 points higher in the past.
About Zachary Litherland
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VirtualMy treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I have used CBT throughout my entire therapy career (6 years). It is the most researched and evidence-based approach in the world. It can also be the most structured and simple. I typically suggest CBT to anyone who has not experienced therapy and is specifically interested in meeting concrete treatment goals.
Daialectical Behavior (DBT)
I have 4 years of experience using DBT, especially when it comes to increasing clients' coping skills to improve their quality of life. I do not practice strict fidelity to the original Dr. Linehan model because I am an individual therapist. Despite this, many of my clients enjoy the immediate focus and behavioral model of DBT as it allows them to see small consistent results quickly.
Brainspotting
I was recently trained in Phase 1 of Brainspotting in October 2023. I am by no means an expert in the approach, but I have already seen the potential it has for very fast processing and partial resolution of emotional suffering. I have not had the opportunity to use Brainspotting as the primary treatment approach across a single client's care, but rather to overcome single points where my client was stuck.
Cognitive Processing (CPT)
I have used CPT the longest in my career simply because it was the subject of my Master's research thesis. CPT has been shown to be as effective as other evidence-based therapies for PTSD. Personally, I like how CPT is structured in stages which can empower the client to see the step by step process to recovery. CPT was created and is particularly suited for treating PTSD as a result of sexual trauma.
Schema Therapy
I was trained in and have been using Schema Therapy as needed for 4 years. I was using the model to provide therapy for individuals with a Borderline Personality Disorder diagnosis. Whereas DBT is very focused on the present and behavior, Schema Therapy is noticing the present and almost always understanding it through a longstanding pattern rooted in the past. Where DBT validates a client, Schema Therapy offers compassion and caring in a way an ideal parent might. That said, the ideal parent is also going to hold reasonable limits, therefore not being permissive of everything a client does, especially when it harms themself or others.