Hi, I'm Dan (he/him), a licensed psychologist practicing in Pittsburgh's East End. I provide therapy for individuals, couples, and families, addressing a wide range of concerns. In addition to general practice, I specialize in creating a safe and affirming space for the LGBTQIA+ community. I'm also passionate about exploring the connection between mental health and the environment (ecopsychology), and helping clients navigate the emotional challenges of climate change (climate-aware psychotherapy).
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
I like to start by asking, "When did you decide to start looking for a therapist?" From there I'll have some follow-up questions to help me understand the nature of the presenting problem and your personal goals for therapy. You are welcome at any time to ask about my policies, therapeutic approach, or other aspects of establishing care. We can then explore your concerns further with some gentle follow-up questions. Feel free to ask anything about my approach, experience, or anything else on your mind. By the end of the first session, I want you to feel like you have the information you need to judge for yourself whether we will be a good fit as therapist and client.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
Two of the personal qualities I rely on when I meet new clients are warmth and openness to connection. I prioritize active listening and understanding your story, fostering a sense of trust and connection that will help us build a relationship that heals.
About Dan Murphy
Address
6301 Forbes Ave., Suite 120, Office 3, Pittsburgh, PA 15217Appointments
Free consults, virtual & in-person
My treatment methods
Attachment-based
Attachment theory is the branch of science that aims to understand what makes it easier or harder for people to build close relationships. I believe attachment theory helps explain so much about what makes psychotherapy so effective as a method of healing. When the therapeutic relationship has certain key ingredients--things like warmth, trust, openness, rapport, authenticity, interpersonal fit--I think it widens the window of what's possible for a therapist and client to achieve together. On a more concrete level, some treatment goals related to attachment that my clients commonly bring to session include clarifying attachment needs, managing attachment anxiety, and understanding attachment style.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
The two methods I use most often in therapy are CBT and EFT. When I'm explaining CBT to a new client, sometimes I'll ask, "Between your thoughts, feelings, and actions, which one do you feel like you have the most control over? Which one is the least controllable?" I tend to get a wide range of responses in return. Some people say thoughts are easiest to control, others say actions, others say feelings. And there's no right answer, of course. It's more to help people understand the basic idea behind CBT, which is that our thoughts, feelings, and actions are all connected to each other, which means if we focus on changing one, the other two will follow. CBT techniques focus specifically on changing thoughts and behaviors because it's easier to define, observe, and measure them, compared to feelings.
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
I use EFT to provide therapy for couples, families, and individuals. In short, EFT focuses on helping people more effectively perceive, understand, and communicate their emotions, which can help alleviate psychological pain and strengthen relationships. When we accept the challenge of sitting more deeply with our most difficult or complex or distressing emotions, we're that much closer to discovering new ways of sharing our emotional lives with the people around us, which, in turn, helps everyone feel a little more human, a little more connected, a little more like we belong.
Polyvagal Therapy
Many of my clients seek me out for trauma-informed therapy, and one of the essential bodies of knowledge I rely on to provide trauma-informed therapy is polyvagal theory. The word "polyvagal" refers to the idea that the vagus nerve--a cranial nerve that every mammal has, including humans--has multiple branches (the "poly" in polyvagal), each of which has evolved to specialize in different survival functions, depending on the threat level in our environment. Polyvagal therapy approaches psychological trauma with two big goals in mind: (1) to help people develop more specific and effective coping strategies for the day-to-day impacts of trauma, and (2) create opportunities for deeper, more compassionate ways of understanding the difficulty and duration of the recovery process.
Gender-affirming therapy
I specialize in therapy for people with minoritized sexual identities and gender modalities (LGBTQIA+ mental health). In this line of work I have provided psychotherapy to individuals, couples, and families. Common therapeutic goals in this specialty include identity exploration, protecting mental health while coming out, deprogramming internalized stigma, managing difficult family dynamics, healing from LGBTQIA+-specific trauma, navigating tensions between gender, sexuality and faith, and long-term management of psychiatric symptoms in an LGBTQ+ affirming environment (maintenance care). I welcome trans and genderqueer clients who are seeking letters of support for medical care.
