James Baldwin writes that “love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.” Therapy can do something similar. By helping us encounter ourselves with greater honesty, it can reveal the patterns that shape our lives and help us find more freedom in how we respond.
I work with older adolescents, adults, couples, and families experiencing depression, anxiety, trauma, relationship difficulties, major life transitions, and questions of meaning, identity, or spirituality. I’m especially interested in people who have done therapy before but sense that something important remains untouched.
My clinical orientation is psychodynamic, and my approach is relational, integrative, and holistic. Together, we’ll build the trust necessary to explore the relationships, identities, emotions, and social forces that shape your experience, consciously and unconsciously. We’llnotice how familiar patterns show up in our work and consider what this means for how you’ve lived and how you want to live.
My work is also informed by Virginia Satir’s experiential approach and third-wave behavioral therapies, including ACT and DBT. Drawing on these approaches, we can experiment with new ways of relating, develop practical ways to navigate difficult emotions, explore your values, and pursue meaningful change. I have additional training in religious trauma and spiritually integrated psychotherapy, which I always approach in a client-led, non-dogmatic way.
Before becoming a therapist, I worked in mental health policy, public leadership, community organizing, and direct care in roles that brought me into relationship with people across differences of culture, race, gender, class, sexuality, religion, politics, and ability. My interdisciplinary education spans social work, literature, religion, theology, and philosophy, with degrees from Williams, Cambridge, Yale, and UNC-Chapel Hill.
Charles Rousseau, LCSWA919-408-3212, ext. 29