A.C. Fowlkes
I am Dr. A.C. Fowlkes, a Virginia-licensed clinical psychologist with extensive experience working in complex behavioral health settings. I provide affirming therapy to LGBTQ+ clients, including transgender and gender-diverse individuals, as well as people navigating cancer and other major life transitions. In separate areas of my practice, I also work with individuals living with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders and those with histories of sexual offending. My approach is compassionate, direct, and collaborative; I create space for you to feel heard while also offering honest feedback and respectfully challenging patterns that may be getting in your way.
First session
Your first session is not an audition, and you do not need to show up knowing exactly what to say. We will spend time talking about what brought you to therapy, what has been happening in your life, and what you hope might be different. I will ask questions, listen carefully, and give you space to ask questions of me too. Most importantly, we will begin figuring out whether I am the right therapist for you and what meaningful work together could look like.
Strengths
My approach is shaped by both my clinical training and my understanding that life is rarely neat, linear, or easily explained. I know what it means to navigate difficult seasons, adapt when life does not go according to plan, and hold more than one truth at the same time. That perspective allows me to sit with complexity without rushing to simplify it. In session, I am engaged. I listen closely, ask thoughtful questions, and give you room to arrive at your own understanding. I can absolutely sit quietly and hold space when that is what the moment requires, but I am also willing to respectfully challenge you, point out patterns I am noticing, and ask the question you may have been avoiding. You will not get a therapist who simply agrees with everything you say, nor will you get someone who believes they know your life better than you do. I see therapy as a collaborative relationship. My role is to help you look more closely, think more deeply, and make choices that are intentional and genuinely yours.
Ideal clients
My ideal client is someone who is willing to get honest, even when honest is uncomfortable. You may be figuring out who you are, navigating cancer or a major life change, learning to live well with schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder, or simply realizing that the way you have been surviving is no longer working. Many of my clients are LGBTQ+ or transgender and want a therapist who understands that affirmation does not mean agreeing with everything you say. It means you do not have to defend your humanity before we can get to the actual work. You do not need to arrive polished, healed, or even completely sure what you want from therapy. Bring the questions. Bring the contradictions. Bring the parts of your life that do not make sense yet. I will meet you there with compassion, curiosity, honesty, and, when necessary, a thoughtful challenge. We will figure out the rest together.
Treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I use CBT to help clients get curious about the connection between what they think, what they feel, and what they do. We pay attention to the stories your mind keeps handing you, especially the ones you have started treating like facts. I am not here to tell you to “think positive” or talk you out of what hurts. We look at what is true, what may be fear talking, and what choices become possible when you see the pattern more clearly.
Gender-affirming therapy
I use gender-affirming therapy to create space for clients to explore gender without judgment, assumptions, or pressure to arrive at a particular answer. Sometimes the work is about dysphoria, transition, relationships, family, work, or navigating systems that do not always make room for you. Sometimes it is simply about having a place where your gender does not need to be explained before we can talk about everything else going on in your life. My role is to support your autonomy, help you make sense of what feels true for you, and walk alongside you as you decide what comes next.
Motivational Interviewing
I use Motivational Interviewing when part of you wants change and another part is not so sure. Rather than pushing you toward a decision, we slow down and get curious about the ambivalence, what matters to you, and what change would actually cost or make possible. I am not here to talk you into anything. My job is to help you hear yourself more clearly so that when you do move, the choice feels like yours.
Location
Virtual sessions