LP, 20 years of experience
I'm a licensed Psychologist in CT and FL dedicated to helping you find a way to manage your symptoms and effectively negotiate the complexities of how you relate within yourself and to the world around you. I received my PH.D. in Clinical Psychology from PGSP (Palo Alto University). My APA internship was at the State of CT DMHAS River Valley Services, with rotations at CT Valley Hospital. I completed my post-doc at the UCONN Dept. of Psychology, Research Division. My career was spent working in skilled nursing and military settings.
During our first session, you'll have an opportunity to talk about your life story, symptom experiences, and explore some areas to focus on for treatment. It's okay if there are some things you don't want to discuss right away. You can be forthright and tell me there is something that is important to explore, but you want to be sure you are ready to talk about it.
I rely on an integration of evidence-based components of classic therapeutic modalities. I focus on factors related to resiliency to help reduce the impact of the difficult things life throws at us. I'm sensitive, considerate, and will integrate your ethnicity, spirituality, and personal choice into therapy. I work with individuals and couples across a broad range of ages and experiential backgrounds.
I'm a big fan of empowerment. I think that having accountability for choices we make is part of that, and helps build a pathway for where we want to be in life. I hope that the experiences from therapy will help you continue to Grow and produce rewarding moments in your life.
Insomnia and chronic pain are additional specialties not listed below
5 ratings with written reviews
June 27, 2025
Dr. Mertens was very knowledgeable and helpful. He was solution oriented and got us talking about our feelings for each other in the first session. He was also very knowledgeable about our mental health situations.
June 11, 2025
Provided much needed insight into my own mind and felt as I was speaking to an educated intelligent older friend rather than feeling clinical. Look forward to next session.
May 31, 2025
Really great session that gave me the perspective I’d hoped for and set a path for me to manage relationship challenges. I really look forward to working with Dr. Mertens again soon