Matt Fischer
I have thirteen years of clinical experience counseling individuals struggling with issues including anxiety, depression and trauma. I greatly value providing you with an authentic and judgement free experience. I find my clients appreciate my direct approach. In other words, I will give it to you straight.
I work collaboratively with my clients to fill their toolbox with effective strategies that they can carry with them throughout their lifetime.
We will work towards what you want in life and that often means moving through what one historically avoids. What lies on the other side of the pain is the life you were meant to live. I also enjoy incorporating humor into our work together. Anxiety, depression and trauma often steal our joy and sense of humor. Joy and humor can be found again.
First session
During our first session, we will begin with introducing ourselves followed by collaborating on a treatment plan structured to meet your specific goals. We may not complete the full treatment plan during the first session but that is okay. We can pick up where we left off during our second session. You will leave the first session with some tools to begin practicing the very first day.
Strengths
I work diligently with my clients to find what works for them. No two people are the same which means that one technique isn't going to fit everyone. I work collaboratively with my clients to fill their toolbox with effective strategies that they can carry with them throughout their lifetime.
Ideal clients
I enjoy working with adolescents 16 and older and adults who struggle with anxiety disorders, depressive disorders and trauma. I do not prescribe medications.
Treatment methods
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Internal Family Systems is a very powerful and effective tool in making positive changes in one's life. My clients learn how to connect and collaborate with the parts of themselves that are attempting to keep them safe, often times, through unhelpful or damaging behaviors. Although these parts are working very hard to keep us safe, their methods are often out-of-date. The parts can be updated to assist in ways that can help one to live the life they were always meant to live.
Somatic
The mind and the body are basically one. What impacts one impacts the other. Emotions and feelings are held in the body. For instance, anxiety and depression are physically felt. Everyone who struggles with these afflictions understands their bodies do not feel good when they are feeling nervous or down. However, we often try to run away from these uncomfortable feelings and emotions which actually perpetuates them. In other words, what we resist, persists! In my practice, I teach people how to stay with and feel these uncomfortable sensations in a safe way so they can be processed and released from the body in a natural and healthy way. Once practiced and learned, these tools are always at your disposal for the remainder of your life.
Brainspotting
With brainspotting, we access the core neurophysiological sources of both emotional and physical pain. It is a very powerful tool for releasing trauma as well as addressing many other issues. This is done through identifying "brainspots" in one's field of vision which allows us to access unconscious mind held within parts of the brain and the body. Symptoms arise and are simultaneously treated when a brainspot is located. Most experience a physiological response with the release of the emotional discomfort. We locate the brainspots by waving a pointer, in patterned way, in one's field of vision until a physical response is identified. Following this, the client focuses on the sensations within the body while processing.
Eclectic
The aforementioned treatments are typically accompanied by a combination of additional evidence-based treatment methods such as mindfulness, expressive writing and both cognitive and behavioral approaches. I also enjoy providing my clients with psychological, social and developmental education to assist them with gaining a greater understanding of the "hows and whys" to their current struggles.
Location
Virtual sessions