My Values as a Psychologist

What I Stand For: My Values as a Psychologist

As a counseling psychologist, advocacy for marginalized communities, social justice, and harm reduction were foundational to my training and are part of my professional ethics. Therapy does not happen in a vacuum, and safety matters.

As a gay man, I am intentional about where I place my trust. I ask my own providers where they stand on issues that directly affect my rights and safety, and I won’t put my health or money in the hands of someone who supports policies that threaten them. I believe this level of transparency is part of informed consent. It allows you to decide upfront whether I am a safe person to trust and be vulnerable with in therapy.

If you strongly disagree with my values, I may not be the right therapist for you, and that’s okay. I’m not here to tell you what to believe or to use therapy as a platform for persuasion. My responsibility as a psychologist is to practice ethically, minimize harm, and support your capacity for reflection, agency, and informed choice. That sometimes includes challenging assumptions, exploring the impact of systems and power, and encouraging critical thinking, not to steer you toward my beliefs, but because thoughtful examination and ethical care are central to competent psychological practice.

With that said, here are the values that guide me as both a human and a psychologist.

I Believe in the Inherent Worth and Dignity of All People

Your value is not determined by your weight, your productivity, your gender identity, your ability status, your income, or whether you’ve ever been in therapy before. You’re worthy of care because you’re a human being.

I strive to create a space where people of all identities - especially those who have been marginalized, pathologized, or left out of traditional therapy spaces - can feel seen, affirmed, and supported.

I Am LGBTQ+ Affirming and Queer-Identified

As a gay man, I don’t simply “support” LGBTQ+ clients. I am part of the community, and my work is grounded in affirming the dignity, safety, and full humanity of people across sexual orientations and gender identities.

I understand the fear and uncertainty that can come with coming out, the exhaustion of code-switching or monitoring yourself for safety, and the grief that can follow when relationships cannot adapt to hold your truth. I am very familiar with the ways shame, vigilance, and self-protection can quietly shape daily life, even long after you’ve named who you are.

Whether you’re questioning your identity, navigating transitions, or living openly and confidently, you deserve a therapist who understands the nuances of queer experience and doesn’t need you to educate them.

I Take a Weight-Inclusive, Non-Diet Approach

I reject the idea that health is synonymous with thinness or that a person’s body size determines their worth. I work from a Health at Every Size® (HAES®) perspective, which means I support clients in building a more peaceful relationship with food, movement, and their bodies, without the pressure to change their weight.

This includes people in all bodies, including those who have been harmed by weight stigma in medical or therapeutic settings.

If you're looking for support in healing your relationship with food or body image, I’m here to help without judgment. If you’re looking for someone to help you lose weight or achieve the “perfect body”, I’m not your guy.

I Believe Bodily Autonomy Is a Human Right

I believe the government has no business standing between people and their healthcare. I support access to gender-affirming care, reproductive freedom, disability justice, and the fundamental right to make decisions about your own body and life. I also believe that insurance companies routinely interfere with care in ways that prioritize profit over people, restrict access, and create unnecessary harm. Healthcare should be guided by clinical judgment, informed consent, and respect for human dignity, not political ideology or corporate interests.

I Believe in Expanding, Not Policing, Masculinity

I work with many men who were taught that vulnerability is weakness, that anger is the only emotion they are allowed to show, or that their worth comes from dominance, stoicism, or success. These messages don’t just limit men—they also reinforce systems that fuel sexism, violence, and emotional disconnection.

My approach is about exploring and questioning harmful ideas about masculinity, not shaming men for having them. I aim to help clients create a broader, more self-connected understanding of masculinity—one grounded in emotional presence, accountability, and care for themselves and others.

Part of this work also means naming and challenging sexism, misogyny, and gender-based violence. Supporting men’s mental health and addressing the harm of patriarchal systems are not separate goals—they are deeply connected.

I Stand Against Fascism and Attacks on Democracy

Therapy cannot be separated from the social and political realities that shape our lives. When therapists intentionally avoid or sidestep these realities, they are, at best, missing the mark and failing to fully understand the contexts their clients are living in and, at worst, contributing to harm through silence or invalidation. Psychological work does not occur in a vacuum. Social power, policy, and ideology shape stress, safety, access to care, and mental health outcomes. Attending to these forces is not political posturing; it is part of ethical, competent, and responsible clinical practice.

I am firmly opposed to the Trump administration, as well as the MAGA and MAHA movements, particularly where they promote authoritarianism, undermine democratic institutions, and restrict the rights, safety, and autonomy of marginalized communities. I am also unequivocally opposed to ICE and the role it plays in detaining, terrorizing, and harming immigrant communities. Many of the people I work with are directly impacted by these policies and ideologies, and remaining silent would itself be a stance.

I don’t refer clients to colleagues who support these movements, and I limit professional association with them to what is ethically required or necessary to ensure continuity of care for the clients I support. This is a deliberate and firmly held ethical boundary, shaped by the need to protect my own well-being and by a refusal to normalize or enable people and systems that tolerate or promote hatred, cruelty, and harm.

I Actively Work to Unlearn and Challenge Oppression

I am committed to ongoing learning, self-examination, and accountability around the ways privilege and power show up in the therapy room. This means actively examining my own identities, blind spots, and areas of privilege, and seeking consultation, education, and feedback when I fall short. It includes an explicit commitment to anti-racism, harm reduction, and ethical practice, as well as creating a therapeutic space where clients do not have to compartmentalize or minimize parts of themselves to feel safe, understood, or respected. My goal is not perfection, but responsibility: to remain engaged, responsive, and accountable in how I show up for the people I work with.

Final Thoughts

You have the right to know who you’re working with and what guides the care you receive. Therapy should be a space where you do not have to edit yourself to feel safe, respected, or taken seriously. My intention in sharing this is not to persuade, but to offer transparency, so you can decide whether I am the right person to trust with your time, energy, and vulnerability.

If these values resonate with you and you’re looking for a therapist who practices with clarity, ethical accountability, and care for the broader systems that shape our lives, I would be honored to work together.

Ready to get started? Schedule a free consultation and let’s talk.