Aden Drolsum
I'm a licensed clinical social worker with over seven years of experience supporting youth and young adults navigating anxiety, identity, neurodivergence, and systems of marginalization. My practice is grounded in Internal Family Systems (IFS), cultural humility, and harm reduction — and in a core belief that you already hold what you need to heal.
I aim for clients to begin noticing meaningful shifts within the first 4–6 sessions—whether in awareness, emotional regulation, or communication.
I don't see my role as fixing you. I see it as guiding you in turning inward with curiosity, so that your own Self can lead. For people who are self-aware, highly sensitive, or attuned to their inner world, this work often feels like finally having a framework for what you've always already been sensing.
First session
In our first session, we'll focus on building comfort and connection. I'll ask some questions about your background and what brings you here, but there's no pressure to share more than you're ready for. We'll go at your pace. I'll also give you a sense of how I work — including how we'll use self-reflection and self-assessment as tools throughout our time together, not just as homework, but as a practice we build in session. This is your space, and from the beginning, I want it to feel collaborative, grounded, and yours.
Strengths
I bring a calm, grounded presence and a deep respect for each person's process. I ask thoughtful, nonjudgmental questions that help you turn inward rather than just talk outward — because I believe insight lives inside you, not in my interpretations. Drawing on IFS, I help people get curious about their own parts: the ones protecting them, the ones carrying pain, and the Self underneath it all. For clients who identify as self-aware, parts-aware, or energy-sensitive, I offer a framework that honors the complexity of your inner world without pathologizing it.
Ideal clients
I specialize in working with LGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent clients, including those with ADHD, autism, or who are self-diagnosed. I support young people navigating identity exploration, family conflict, emotional overwhelm, and disconnection from school, work, or care systems. I'm especially drawn to working with people who would describe themselves as self-aware, highly sensitive, or deeply attuned to energy and emotion — people who've often done a lot of their own reflection and are ready to go deeper with support. My approach is affirming, non-pathologizing, and grounded in IFS. That means we work with all of your parts, at their own pace, and never against them.
Treatment methods
Gender-affirming therapy
I approach all care through a gender-affirming lens, meaning I follow your lead on language, identity, and how you understand yourself. I don't assume, pathologize, or require you to explain or justify your identity to receive support. For LGBTQIA+ and gender-expansive clients, this means therapy is a space where we explore what you want to explore.
Attachment-based
I draw on attachment theory to help clients understand how early relational experiences shape the patterns showing up in their lives today — in relationships, in how they seek or avoid connection, and in how they relate to themselves. This is about getting curious, rather than critical, by giving you space to get to know your patterns instead of judging them. Understanding your attachment patterns is one of the most powerful forms of self-knowledge, and it pairs naturally with parts-based work to help you build more secure relationships from the inside out.
Compassion-Focused
A lot of the people I work with are hard on themselves in ways they wouldn't be with anyone else. Compassion-focused work helps create enough internal safety that you can actually look at yourself honestly — without the shame spiral that shuts reflection down before it starts. I draw on DBT and parts-based approaches alongside self-assessment tools to help clients develop a genuinely kind relationship with their inner world and build coping skills that fit who you are.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
Mindfulness in my practice is about learning to notice what's happening inside you without immediately reacting to it. I draw on mindfulness as a foundation for self-assessment and inner attunement, helping clients build the capacity to pause, observe their parts with curiosity, and respond from a more grounded place. For clients who are energy-sensitive or highly attuned to their inner world, this kind of reflective practice may feel like coming home to a language they already speak.
Trauma-Informed Care
All of my work is trauma-informed, meaning I understand that many of the patterns, protections, and coping strategies that bring someone to therapy made sense at some point and deserve to be met with respect, not pathology. Drawing on IFS principles, I approach trauma not as something to be eliminated but as something carried by parts of you that needed to survive. We work at your pace, with your consent, and always with an eye toward building safety before going anywhere tender. I operate from the principle that slow is fast.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
Top specialties
Other specialties
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Licensed in
- MarylandLicense 28263