My name is Matthew Taylor and I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC). Originally from Massachusetts, I grew up in South Florida. I received my Bachelor's Degree from the University of North Florida and my Master of Education degree from Florida Atlantic University. I have 10 years of experience in the field with a wide range of treatment experiences. I received EMDR training in 2020 with a focus on Somatic and Attachment healing from trauma. I specialize in depression, grief, loss, PTSD, stress, and substance use / addiction and have significant experience with trauma, LGBTQIA+, bipolar disorder, anger management, anxiety, family issues, sleep disorder, men's issues, and relationship issues. You should also know that I am a proud husband, father of two boys, dog father, Eagle Scout, and Disney Passholder. I tend to blend several approaches together under a basic Humanist principle to treat you as an individual and that your learning and healing process is unique. I employ a trauma-informed approach that you have learned certain skills for a reason. Our goals will be to make sense of your issues once we put all the pieces together. I am to work alongside you as an ally in your healing process, align with your needs, challenge you towards growth, and support your independence and openness. I believe that you are a unique individual and deserve to be celebrated as such. You have walked through life with your own unique set of circumstances and perspectives that have served you and helped you survive. You have done the best that you can with what you have and it has brought you as far as you could possibly go, so now you deserve help to bring you further. I believe in, and champion, the survivor in everyone, whether you are a survivor of childhood trauma, military trauma, social trauma, and any other pains you have endured, including that of loss. Having walked my own journeys, and walked alongside the journeys of others, please know that you never have to suffer alone, and that from this moment on you can find a path to your own freedom in peace. The path forward may require some Honesty, Openminded-ness, and Willingness, so be sure you know how to balance these with hope and humor. Please reach out if you think I might be a good fit for you.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
Our first session will be an assessment so I can get a full picture and history to understand your issues in depth. We can then begin looking through what is impeding your success and growth so that we can maximize your efforts. Our first goal is essentially understanding, which will then lead to connection and compassion, followed by the challenge to change and grow.
What treatment methods and tools do you utilize?
Rogerian/Person-centered therapy: this is the building block where you receive Unconditional Positive Regard, Empathy, and Genuineness from me to help build safety for you to explore your thoughts and feelings Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): we look at your belief systems, specifically Core Beliefs of Self, Others, and World in order to identify how these have been effected by traumas and losses Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): a method and focus of therapy that helps to free you from the weight of specific moments that are carried through your life by challenging your usual pattern of connecting with and reliving your past Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT): Skills development to help you create balance in your life and feel empowered towards independence
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
My biggest strength has to be the work I do on empathy, I work hard to understand you and try to make sense of what you experience in order to offer the best solutions for your life. I look from many different perspectives to find what most fully explains what is happening with you so you can figure out what to do with it. I also tend to really lean into humor and laughter to find ways to break what tend to feel like static states. If you can experience a break from that experience, you find hope that things can change. This leads to my last strength of optimism. It's not the "rosy" optimism, but one grounded in reality: if you keep showing up to put in the work and are willing to stay uncomfortable, I know that you will find what you are looking for!
Describe the client(s) you are best positioned to serve.
Adults that feel like they have old things from their childhood they believe they "should be over by now", especially coming from a dysfunctional family system