Meet Our Team
Michael Charles Christian Kessler, LCSW
Pronouns: They/He
Clinical Supervisor
Licensed Clinical Social Worker #73368
I specialize in serving LGBTQIA2S+ folx around exploring gender & attractions, depression, anxiety, trauma, substance use, dating, sex, coming out, family & relationship issues, body image, social & medical transition, and neurodivergence among other things. I believe you are the expert on you, not me! My job isn't to tell you what to do but to help you unlock the answers inside you & guide you on your journey. And as a social worker, I will ensure you're connected to any resources you need. I take a collaborative, client-centered & humanistic approach to therapy.
Trainings and certifications
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing certified - EMDR (2021)
Trauma Focused Cognitive behavioral therapy - CBT (2021)
Specialties
I use cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) as well as mindfulness to help you identify & change unhelpful thought patterns and develop skills to manage your emotions, and somatic work to foster a mind-body approach and help you get comfortable in your body.
I'm also trained in EMDR & trauma-focused CBT.
Clients/Groups/Communities I work with: Transgender, LGBTQIA2S+, neurodivergent, trauma, suicide prevention, grief & loss, families, BIPOC, People with disabilities
Challenges & Obstacles I Work With: How to navigate systems to get needs met, accessing resources, social justice
Life Changes & Opportunities I Work With: Coming out, gender transition (social & medical), identity formation, gender dysphoria, body image issues, intersectionality, grief & loss, depression, anxiety
I'm a white, transmasculine, genderqueer, panromantic, demisexual therapist with over 30 years of experience who transitioned from female to male in 2005. I acknowledge that I am living & working on the ancestral lands of the Coast Miwok, Pomo, and Wappo peoples. I have worked in a number of settings including crisis work, outpatient clinics, emergency rooms, assertive community treatment (ACT) programs, residential programs, substance use rehab programs, and high risk/high acute county programs. I work with people of all ages, but I esp. love working with youth.