Chris Burgess
I'm Chris Burgess, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and founder of The High Lonesome Psychotherapy. My approach is direct, practical, and grounded in the belief that meaningful change requires honest reflection, personal accountability, and action. I work with adults navigating substance use and recovery, anger, relationship difficulties, anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and challenges involving identity, intimacy, and sexual health. I also work with individuals affected by intimate partner violence (IPV), including those seeking to understand and change patterns of controlling, harmful, or abusive behavior.
Direct, compassionate therapy focused on meaningful change. I help individuals and couples address addiction, anger, relationship difficulties, and patterns that keep them feeling stuck.
My practice provides LGBTQIA+, kink, and consensual non-monogamy affirming care. I recognize that relationships, identities, and personal circumstances are complex. My role is not to impose conventional expectations but to help you navigate your circumstances with greater understanding, responsibility, and clarity. I believe effective therapy requires more than simply talking about problems. Sometimes meaningful progress involves difficult conversations, examining uncomfortable truths, challenging familiar patterns, and making deliberate changes. My clinical approach incorporates Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), and psychodynamic therapy. Rather than forcing everyone into a predetermined treatment model, I adapt our work to your individual needs, circumstances, and goals. I offer a respectful, nonjudgmental therapeutic environment without abandoning the importance of honesty and accountability. Whether you're addressing longstanding difficulties or navigating a specific challenge, our work will focus on identifying what needs to change and developing practical ways to move forward. My goal isn't to keep you in therapy indefinitely. It's to help you make meaningful progress that extends beyond our sessions and into your everyday life. Simple. Not easy. You do not have to figure it out alone.
First session
Our first session is an opportunity to understand what brings you to therapy, get to know one another, and begin identifying what you would like to change. We'll discuss your current concerns and explore relevant aspects of your life, including relationships, family history, work, health, personal strengths, and previous experiences with therapy. I'll ask questions to better understand not only what you're experiencing, but also how these difficulties may be affecting your daily life and relationships. You can expect a straightforward, respectful conversation. I listen carefully, ask direct questions when appropriate, and encourage you to speak openly about what matters to you. Difficult subjects are welcome, including addiction, anger, relationship conflict, intimacy, shame, and behaviors you may not feel comfortable discussing elsewhere. You don't need to arrive with everything figured out, have the right words, or even feel completely ready to make changes. Ambivalence is a normal part of the therapeutic process, and we can explore it together. We'll also discuss what you hope to accomplish, how I approach treatment, and whether we're a good clinical fit. When appropriate, we'll begin identifying meaningful goals and discussing what progress might look like. By the end of our first meeting, my intention is for you to feel heard, understand how we might work together, and have a clearer sense of where we can begin. Therapy is collaborative, but it should also have direction. Our first session is where we begin establishing that direction.
Strengths
I bring compassion, honesty, and a practical focus to our work. You can expect a therapist who listens carefully, asks direct questions, and is willing to have difficult conversations when they matter. My approach is supportive without being passive. I believe meaningful therapy requires trust, honest reflection, personal accountability, and a willingness to examine patterns that may be uncomfortable to confront. Our work begins by understanding what brought you to therapy, identifying what needs to change, and establishing meaningful goals. I want you to understand what we are working toward and why. Therapy should be a collaborative process in which insight leads to practical changes in your everyday life. In addiction and recovery work, we explore the underlying functions of substance use, recognize triggers, strengthen coping strategies, and develop sustainable approaches to recovery. With anger, we examine emotional responses, underlying beliefs, and behavioral patterns while developing healthier ways to manage conflict. When addressing intimate partner violence, including controlling or abusive behavior, our work emphasizes responsibility, understanding the impact of harmful actions, developing nonviolent responses, and establishing healthier patterns of behavior. Accountability and compassion are not mutually exclusive. In sexual health, intimacy, and relationship work, I provide an affirming environment where we can openly discuss desire, shame, boundaries, consent, identity, and relationship structures without imposing conventional expectations. I incorporate Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), and psychodynamic approaches, adapting treatment to your individual circumstances and goals. My intention is not simply to help you understand your difficulties, but to help you develop the awareness, skills, and choices necessary to create meaningful, lasting change. Simple. Not easy.
Ideal clients
I work well with people who want to better understand themselves, recognize patterns that are no longer serving them, and make meaningful changes in their lives. You do not need to have everything figured out or know exactly what you want from therapy before we begin. You may be struggling with addiction or recovery, anger, anxiety, depression, grief, relationship difficulties, or a significant life transition. Perhaps you've noticed that your reactions are damaging important relationships, that familiar coping strategies are no longer working, or that you're repeating behaviors you genuinely want to change. I also work with individuals affected by intimate partner violence, including people who recognize controlling, intimidating, or harmful behavior in themselves and want to take responsibility for changing it. Our work can involve difficult conversations, honest self-examination, and developing healthier ways of responding to conflict. You may be navigating questions about identity, sexuality, intimacy, or relationships. I welcome LGBTQIA+, kink, and consensually non-monogamous clients seeking an affirming therapeutic environment where
Treatment methods
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
I use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help you identify what matters most and notice whether your choices are moving you toward or away from it. We focus on small, intentional changes rather than trying to change everything at once. The goal is not to become someone new, but to live more fully as who you are and in a way that reflects what matters to you.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Sometimes different parts of us want different things. One part may want change while another wants the safety of what is familiar. I use Internal Family Systems to help you approach those parts with curiosity rather than judgment. Together, we can understand why certain reactions developed, what purpose they may serve, and how to create more room to choose your response instead of reacting automatically.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
I use skills from Dialectical Behavior Therapy to help you become more “comfortable in the uncomfortable.” Change often brings uncertainty, strong emotions, and the temptation to return to familiar patterns. Together, we can build practical skills for managing distress, responding more intentionally, and moving through difficult moments without losing sight of what matters most.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help you notice patterns in your thinking and understand how they affect your emotions, choices, and relationships. Together, we can examine automatic thoughts and assumptions and ask whether they fit what is actually happening. This is not about forcing positive thinking. It is about thinking more clearly and deliberately so fear, assumptions, and old patterns have less control over your choices.
Psychodynamic
I use psychodynamic therapy to help clients understand how past experiences, relationships, and unconscious patterns influence their current thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Together, we identify recurring patterns, explore their origins, and connect that insight to practical changes in everyday life.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
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Licensed in
- ConnecticutLicense 58.017198