(he/him)
New to Grow
Bryan Haggard LCSW, he/him/his A west-side Chicago native eager to help others create change in their lives, Bryan Haggard is a compassionate, creative, and humor-loving clinician who is able to leverage the insights of his own identities to empathize with, affirm, and celebrate his clients. His skill in partnering mindfulness and spirituality with his training and knowledge enables Bryan to facilitate a holistic therapeutic experience, particularly for clients dealing with any of the intersections of trauma, addiction, race, and sexuality. Bryan graduated from Southern Illinois University Carbondale with a bachelor’s in social work in 2013. Bryan completed his graduate studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and received his master’s in social work in 2014. Bryan is a licensed clinical social worker. Bryan is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in social work at Howard University. Bryan is currently accepting new clients in Washington, DC and Illinois. “If you’re ready to take this next step to live a more fruitful life, I am here to help you start this new journey. I look forward to hearing from you.”
Our first session would consist of introductions and exploring your current therapy goals and expectations. We will discuss boundaries, and therapy goals. I understand working with a new therapist can be a lot and retelling your story can be exhausting. So, with your first session we will start where you wish to start and get to know each other.
As a Black man who is a therapist, I know that there is often a dissonance between the outside world and the world that lives within each of us. Often, we resolve that dissonance by making ourselves smaller and dulling our edges. By doing this, we set ourselves up to have to numb that yearning to be our true selves. Each week I want to create a practice of showing up as our true selves and diving deep to find authenticity, support, and strength to allow us to walk out the door into the world as who we want to be. My practice values: Authenticity We often hear this word thrown around, what I know is that who I am as a person is often siloed into neat little compartments. It is rare to find a space that allows for the mixing of those identities into the complex human that I am. Here you’ll find that it is safe to be you—regardless of sexual orientation, gender expression, status, religious affiliation, or racial composition. We’re here to help you find and nurture the truest expression of you. Rigor Some people need the slow, lingering journey of a therapeutic journey. That is not what you will find in my sessions. We are here to reveal and to grow in our commitment to ourselves here and now. Revelation is often painful and building our strength and skills burns. Our agreement will include commitment, hard work, and vulnerability at every single session. Blackness My Blackness informs every part of my being as an individual and as a clinician. It is the root of my pride, my striving for excellence, and it underscores my knowledge and experience that there are systems that seek to assimilate and rip us away from connections that strengthen us as individuals in the world. While there can be so much work we do, at Dash Health we know that these systemic forces need to be brought into the room to find our way back to connection, authenticity, and liberation in solidarity. Resourcefulness While "Talk Therapy" is a treatment component that our practice offers, we also believe in a holistic approach that prioritizes our client's overall well-being. We partner with various psychiatric nurse practitioners, certified yoga instructors, and health and career coaches. I am here to collaborate not only with you on your journey, but to learn from and connect you to colleagues and other methods of revelation and therapeutic strength training.
improving self-esteem career counseling To reduce cultural stigmas via socializations about male identify, queer identity, challenging the status quo via work life balance, gender roles family dysfunction addictions. high performing individuals People who enjoying creating via marketing, music, writers, directors, film makers parenting adult children, emptying nesting men's health, masculinity, men's issues women's health and empowerment, exploring the impact of violence and partrichary on black women LBGTQ populations, suicidal ideations, mood disorder's
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a structured, short-term therapy that focuses on how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are connected. It teaches that negative or distorted thinking can lead to emotional distress and unhelpful actions. Using CBT, I plan to teach my clients how to identify these thought patterns, question their accuracy, and replace them with more realistic, balanced ones. I help my clients practice new behaviors to reinforce healthier thinking. I assign “homework” between sessions. I would use this treatment method with clients to treat anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions by helping individuals develop practical coping skills and problem-solving strategies.
Culturally Sensitive Therapy
Culturally sensitive therapy is an approach to mental health care that recognizes and respects a client’s cultural background—such as race, ethnicity, religion, language, gender identity, and values. With providing cullutrally inclusive care to clients this would include being aware of cultural beliefs about mental health, communication styles, family roles, and experiences like discrimination or immigration. The goal is to create a safe, respectful space where clients feel understood and validated. Culturally sensitive therapy can improve trust, strengthen the therapist–client relationship, and lead to more effective treatment outcomes by aligning care with the client’s lived experience.
Relational
Relational Therapy is a form of therapy that focuses on how relationships shape a person’s emotional well-being and sense of self. It is based on the idea that people grow through connection, and that past and present relationships—especially early ones—affect how we relate to others. Problems like anxiety, depression, or low self-esteem are often linked to patterns in relationships, such as isolation, conflict, or lack of trust. With relational therapy as a treatment modality. I build a genuine, supportive relationship with my clients may explore how interactions within the therapy reflect real-life patterns. My goal is to help improve self-awareness, strengthen healthy connections, and develop more fulfilling, authentic relationships.
Trauma Informed Care
Trauma-Informed Care is an approach used in my therapy, recognizes how past trauma affects a person’s behavior, emotions, and physical health. Rather than focusing only on symptoms, it considers a person’s life experiences—such as abuse, violence, loss, or discrimination—and how these may shape their responses. The goal is to avoid re-traumatization and provide care that is respectful, compassionate, and responsive to each person’s experiences, helping them feel understood and supported in the healing process.
Racial trauma treatment
Racial trauma treatment addresses the psychological and emotional harm caused by experiences of racism, discrimination, and systemic inequality. It recognizes that these experiences can lead to symptoms similar to trauma, such as anxiety, depression, hypervigilance, or anger. I use Trauma-Informed Care and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), while adapting them to acknowledge cultural identity and lived experiences with racism. Treatment may also involve community support, advocacy, and connecting with culturally competent providers. The goal is not just symptom relief, but healing, empowerment, and reclaiming a sense of safety and identity.