Eric Eid-Reiner LICSW

** IMMEDIATE TELEHEALTH (VIDEO) OPENINGS AVAILABLE ** You can self-schedule your free video consultation at https://centeredperspectives.clientsecure.me You're also welcome to schedule by calling or emailing me. If scheduling directly on this page, there's a chance we'll have to tweak the time due to calendar technology limitations. [Please see below for more on my style/approach.] I often work with clients seeking support around depression, anxiety, isolation, trauma, and a variety of life stressors and transitions. My specialties include bereavement, substance use, LGBTQ+ identity, people who have experienced domestic violence, and musicians facing performance-related anxiety. My approach is grounded in narrative therapy. Depending on client needs and preferences, I also integrate motivational interviewing, mindfulness, person-centered, solution-focused, and cognitive-behavioral approaches. Narrative therapy is a collaborative, non-blaming, approach that was developed in the 1980s. It is grounded in the idea that people have relationships with the challenges that they are facing, rather than being defined by these challenges. In other words, as narrative therapy co-creator Michael White wrote, “The person is not the problem; the problem is the problem.” One of the goals of narrative therapy is helping people lead lives that align with their preferred ways of being, interacting, and feeling in the world. Conversations in therapy frequently include exploring what these preferences and hopes are. A narrative approach to therapy pays particular attention to the ways that we make meaning out of events in our lives, and the stories that emerge. Stories that lead people to seek therapy often have themes of self-blame, incompetence, feeling stuck, or failure. In narrative therapy, these stories are not seen as stagnant, nor as “truths” or “reality,” but as dynamic and able to be explored and “re-authored” as new or alternative meanings develop. Additionally, narrative therapy is a social justice-informed approach that intentionally makes space for examining the ways that societal ideas, messages, structures, history, and oppression can impact and contribute to the challenges people face.

In short, my goals as a therapist are to help you feel you'd like to feel and to support you in leading the kind of life you want for yourself. I welcome feedback at any time. Therapy is a collaborative process and it is important for us to feel like we're on the same page -- and have a conversation about it if we're not. I check in regularly with clients about how our sessions are going and how they're feeling about the progress they are making. With all clients, after a couple of sessions, we create a treatment plan document together that outlines some goals for our work. That said, priorities may shift, new needs may arise, and all of that is totally fine! The treatment plan doesn't limit the focus of our work. (It can also be updated at any point.)

Before we set up a first (full-length) appointment, I provide a free 15-minute video consultation with each potential client so that we can meet each other and make sure it seems like a fit as far as what you’re looking for and what I offer. I welcome your questions. The initial consultation is also an opportunity to touch base on a couple of logistical details. You can set up the consultation at https://centeredperspectives.clientsecure.me/ or by emailing me, or calling me at 857-353-6133. ** Immediate telehealth openings are available. ** Please note: I do not use ChoosingTherapy's self-scheduling system though, so my profile will incorrectly show no availability. You can self-schedule your free video consultation at https://centeredperspectives.clientsecure.me You're also welcome to schedule by calling or emailing me. Before we wrap up the initial consultation, we’ll talk about possible next steps. If I think my approach and experience could be a good fit based on our conversation and what you’ve shared, I’ll let you know that, and then it’s up to you if you’d like to move forward. And if I think someone else with a different approach or area of expertise would be more in-line with what you’re looking for, I’ll be honest about that, too. After the consultation, I’ll send you a link to a secure online portal so that you can independently complete the intake paperwork there. If you have any questions as you do this, you can always reach out, or we can discuss them at our next meeting. At our first several appointments, we will continue to get to know each other as we talk in greater depth about what brought you to therapy and your goals. I’ll also ask a lot of questions that will help me learn more about aspects of your life that might relate to our work together. We’ll briefly review a few of the key elements of the intake paperwork as well. Additionally, we will collaborate on creating a treatment plan, a document that provides a (flexible) outline of what we expect to work on together. These early conversations will not only inform our future work together, but are themselves intended to be meaningful opportunities for you to feel heard and explore your perspectives, experiences, and hopes.

• Massachusetts, Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, LICSW121122

Before opening Centered Perspectives, I was a social worker at a public high school for several years. Prior to that, I was a therapist at a community mental health clinic for four years, where I enjoyed working with people of all ages seeking therapy for a wide variety of concerns. In my graduate school field placements, I worked with elementary school students and their families, and with clients at Fenway Health in Boston, a large community health center that is focused on providing care for LGBTQ+ people, people living with HIV/AIDS, and the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) community. My volunteer experience has included working with nursing home residents, survivors of domestic violence, and youth in foster care.