Max McIntosh
I'm Max McIntosh and I love to help people who survived complex trauma as children reprogram their own brain so they can live in the now and learn to thrive! I use Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, Cognitive Reprocessing Therapy, and other trauma-informed treatments, but mostly we learn together how to replace the toxic voices from the past with the caring you deserved, so you can stop shoulding on yourself and know that you are ok, even when your body finds that hard to believe. I have 25 years of experience helping victims of child abuse and neglect, abandonment, multiple placements, narcissistic parents, violence, and other traumas recover and rebuild their lives. If you're ready, I can help you, too.
First session
In the first session, we'll talk about what gave you the courage to reach out for help now, what is bothering you the most, your life so far, and what kind of future you want to have. Then we'll work together on a plan to help you get there, decide how often you want to meet, and set expectations so we both know what to expect. No one can change things in a single hour, but you should leave the first session with more hope, a road map for your goals, and having learned at least one new thing. We will continue to keep track of how you are doing and adapt to your needs and what works for you.
Strengths
I have a great passion for helping people who struggle with profoundly difficult topics: dissociation, intentional self-harm, years of thoughts about suicide, deep self-doubt or even self-loathing, uncontrollable panic attacks, flashbacks, and waves of overwhelming emotions. All of these make perfect sense as survival strategies under unrelenting betrayal and hurt, but they don't have to be life sentences. I am patient and supportive and I don't judge, and you too worrying about what everyone thinks. I have learned things that work, and also learned why other things don't work as well.
Treatment methods
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
I use ACT to help clients accept where they are and take action to help move them toward the life they want, even when their lives are overwhelming. It is helpful with depression, anxiety, dissociation, and even PTSD as a starting point, to overcome feeling stuck in helplessness and hopelessness
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Trauma-informed CBT is foundational for much of my work with most clients, since it helps give people the tools to understand themselves, distinguish their thoughts from their feelings, work on improving how they manage their feelings, and understand how the brain works and use that to make better choices
Trauma-Focused CBT
I have helped hundreds of children and adolescents recover from traumatic experiences, including abuse, neglect, and witnessing trauma, providing TF-CBT to the youth and their caregiver since 2009. I also use EMDR with youth, Cognitive Processing Therapy for adults and adolescents over 13, and Resource Parenting Curriculum to provide trauma-informe parenting to foster and adoptive parents
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
I have been using Dialectical Behavior Therapy since 1990, and when it is used with compassion, empathic understanding, and support, it can stabilize people who have struggled with chronic suicidal ideation, self-harm, and other self-destructive attempts to feel better, and give them the skills to build a better life
EMDR
I have been using EMDR since 2010, and it can be very effective for building resources and processing trauma
Identifies as
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Licensed in
- North CarolinaLicense S4102