Licensed to practice in 3 states and accepts 18 insurances. Specializes in Couples Counseling, Family Therapy, Sexual Abuse and 7 more.
I’m Chad Stiles, PhD, LMFT, and I provide trauma-informed therapy for individuals, couples, and families who feel stuck in painful patterns and want a more grounded way forward. Many of the people I work with are carrying the impact of trauma, relationship conflict, emotional disconnection, anxiety, depression, betrayal, or life transitions that have started to affect how they see themselves and connect with others. My approach is collaborative, practical, and compassionate. I draw from Solution-Focused Brief Therapy and IFS-informed parts work to help clients identify what is already working, understand the protective patterns that may be keeping them stuck, and build realistic steps toward change. I believe clients are the experts in their own lives, and therapy works best when we slow things down enough to notice strengths, patterns, emotions, and possibilities that may have been hard to see before. In sessions, I aim to create a space where you can be honest without feeling judged, pressured, or blamed. Whether you are seeking support individually or as part of a relationship, my goal is to help you move toward more clarity, emotional safety, connection, and confidence in your next steps.
In our first session, my main goal is to get to know you, understand what brings you to therapy, and begin creating a space where you feel comfortable being honest about what has been difficult. You do not have to come in with the perfect words, a fully organized story, or a clear plan for what needs to happen next. Many people begin therapy feeling overwhelmed, unsure, anxious, guarded, or even skeptical about whether therapy can help. That is okay. We will start where you are. I will ask about what led you to schedule the appointment, what has been weighing on you lately, and what you hope will be different because of therapy. If you are coming in for individual therapy, we may talk about your mood, stressors, relationships, trauma history, coping strategies, strengths, and what life looks like when things feel even slightly better. If you are coming in for couples or relationship work, we will begin identifying the patterns that keep repeating between you, such as conflict, shutdown, mistrust, emotional distance, or feeling like you are both trying but missing each other. My style is conversational and collaborative. I do not see therapy as me telling you what is wrong with you. Instead, I work with you to understand what has happened, what has helped you survive, and what kind of change would actually feel meaningful in your life. Because I use a Solution-Focused approach, I will often ask questions about your preferred future, exceptions to the problem, strengths you already have, and small signs that things are beginning to move in the right direction. These questions help us avoid getting stuck only in the problem and begin building a clear picture of where you want to go. I also use IFS-informed parts work, which means we may gently explore different “parts” of you or your relationship pattern. For example, one part of you may want closeness while another part pulls away to avoid being hurt. One part may want to speak up while another part worries about conflict. In couples work, one partner’s protective response may look like anger while the other’s may look like withdrawal. Instead of blaming those responses, we work to understand what they are trying to protect and how to create safer, more effective ways to respond. By the end of the first session, we will begin identifying your goals and what a helpful therapy process could look like. You should leave with a clearer sense of how I work, what we may focus on, and what next steps could support the change you are hoping for. Therapy does not require you to have everything figured out before you begin. The first session is simply a starting point for understanding your story, your strengths, and the direction you want to move.
One of the main strengths I bring to therapy is the ability to hold difficult experiences with compassion while still helping clients move toward practical change. I work from the belief that people are not broken; they are often responding to pain, trauma, stress, or relationship patterns in ways that once made sense but may no longer be helping. This perspective allows us to approach therapy with curiosity instead of shame. My approach stands out because I combine Solution-Focused Brief Therapy with IFS-informed parts work. The Solution-Focused side of my work helps clients clarify what they want life or their relationship to look like, notice what is already working, and identify small, realistic steps toward change. Rather than spending every session only reviewing what went wrong, we also look for moments of strength, exceptions, progress, and possibility. The IFS-informed side of my work helps clients slow down and understand the protective parts that show up during stress, conflict, trauma responses, or emotional disconnection. These parts may appear as anger, avoidance, people-pleasing, numbness, perfectionism, control, defensiveness, or shutdown. Instead of treating those responses as character flaws, we explore what they are trying to protect and how they might be helped to respond differently. I have a strong focus on trauma-informed care, especially in relationships affected by PTSD, sexual trauma, military sexual trauma, betrayal, emotional safety concerns, and long-standing conflict. I understand that trauma often does not stay neatly contained inside one person. It can affect communication, intimacy, trust, conflict, parenting, identity, and the ability to feel safe with someone you love. In therapy, I help clients and couples slow these patterns down so they can understand what is happening beneath the surface. Clients often tell me they appreciate that I am calm, direct, nonjudgmental, and collaborative. I do not believe therapy should feel like being lectured or blamed. I want clients to feel respected, understood, and actively involved in the process. My goal is to help you recognize your strengths, make sense of your patterns, and build a path forward that feels realistic, emotionally safe, and connected to the life or relationship you want.
I am best positioned to serve individuals, couples, and families who feel stuck in patterns they are ready to better understand and change. Many of my clients are dealing with relationship conflict, emotional disconnection, trauma, anxiety, depression, betrayal, family stress, life transitions, or difficulty feeling safe and connected with others. In couples work, I am a strong fit for partners who still care about each other but feel caught in repeated cycles of conflict, shutdown, defensiveness, mistrust, or distance. I often work with couples impacted by trauma, PTSD, sexual trauma, military sexual trauma, infidelity, communication breakdowns, and intimacy concerns. These couples may not know how to repair the relationship yet, but they are willing to slow down, listen differently, and begin rebuilding emotional safety. In individual therapy, I work well with clients who are reflective, overwhelmed, guarded, or unsure where to begin, but who want therapy to help them move toward clarity, confidence, healing, and practical change. My clients do not need to have everything figured out before starting. They only need a willingness to explore what is happening, identify what they want to be different, and take small steps toward that preferred future. My approach is especially helpful for clients who want therapy to feel collaborative, nonjudgmental, goal-oriented, and emotionally safe. I help clients understand protective patterns, reconnect with strengths, and build realistic steps toward healthier relationships, improved coping, and a stronger sense of self.
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I identify as
Solution Focused Brief Treatment
I use a Solution-Focused Brief Therapy approach, which means we focus on what’s working and how to build on it rather than staying stuck in problems. Together, we identify your strengths, clarify your goals, and explore small, realistic steps that move you forward. This approach is practical, goal-oriented, and designed to help you create meaningful change in a shorter amount of time while empowering you as the expert in your own life.
Couples Counseling
In couples counseling, I use a Solution-Focused Brief Therapy approach to help partners move away from cycles of conflict and toward meaningful connection. Rather than focusing solely on what’s going wrong, we identify what’s already working in your relationship and build on those strengths. Together, we clarify shared goals, improve communication, and develop practical, achievable steps that help you reconnect and move forward as a team.