Dave Doerken
My name is Dave Doerken, a licensed Marriage Family Therapist (LMFT). I have worked extensively within the queer community, addressing issues ranging from childhood/adult trauma, substance use & recovery, shame/perfectionism, emotional regulation and coping strategies, to societal and internalized oppression.
As a queer-affirming therapist, I understand the importance of feeling safe and validated in therapy.
My approach is warm, relational, and grounded in evidence-based practices. I work from a trauma-informed, attachment-centered lens and believe in the resilience of the human spirit. My goal is to help you better understand your story, heal from past traumas, and reevaluate painful patterns that do not serve you in ways they might have in the past. I hope to support you build meaningful, connected relationships—with others and with yourself.
First session
The sanctity of the therapeutic alliance is paramount. More than any intervention I could possibly employ during session, the relationship between client and therapist has far greater impact on the work of therapy than anything else. In the first session, I strive to better understand your experience while nurturing the development of safety and trust. While gathering personal information is important to learning about you and while you are seeking therapy, it cannot come at the expense of your emotional safety and overall comfort with the therapeutic process.
Strengths
More than anything, my ultimate goal as a therapist is to co-create a safe and trusting environment with clients so that they feel comfortable sharing whatever is on their heart or mind. As a queer-affirming therapist, I understand the importance of feeling safe and validated in therapy. Whether you're exploring identity, recovering from religious or societal trauma, or just looking for someone with the lived experience for whom you do not have to explain yourself, I offer a space where all parts of you are welcome.
Ideal clients
I work with adults and couples navigating: • Attachment wounds: Anxious or avoidant relationship patterns, fear of rejection/abandonment, self-recognition/regulation techniques, and emotional (dis)connection • Trauma and complex trauma (C-PTSD): Childhood abuse, neglect, relational trauma, sexual violence • Addiction and recovery: Substance use, process addictions, codependency, harm reduction • LGBTQ+: Coming out, gender exploration, family dynamics, queer relationships, cultivating queer joy • Perfectionism and Other Shame-Driven Personal Narratives • Anxiety, Depression, Perfectionism, and burnout I am affirming of all gender identities, sexual orientations, and relationship styles, including polyamory and kink.
Treatment methods
Eclectic
YOU are the expert of your own life and there is no way for me to know you better than you know yourself. The primacy of the therapeutic alliance between myself and clients is sacred, and I believe must be rooted in safety and trust. It is an honor and privilege for me to be invited into my clients’ lives in such profoundly intimate ways. I take an open and non-judgmental approach to engaging clients through Socratic questioning, offering differing perspectives to nurture the development of deeper insight while implementing behavioral change. I take an eclectic approach to therapy, often utilizing attachment-oriented psychodynamic questioning to encourage deeper self-exploration and awareness while incorporating mindfulness-based behavioral techniques such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to support clients in creating change in their day-to-day lives. I believe I am here to empathically and collaboratively support you as you discover and rediscover new depths of yourself. I specialize in addiction, trauma, perfectionism, and relational dynamics through the lens of attachment theory. I have worked extensively with the LGBTQ+ community and as a gay man myself, I consider the nuanced facets of the queer community
Location
Virtual sessions