Nicholas MoallemLMHC

My approach to therapy involves helping you notice and change the patterns that dominate your life. This often means that we will be looking at feelings, sensations, and thoughts as they arise in the present moment while developing an understanding of the past experiences they are related to. During this process, we will uncover some of the unspoken beliefs you have been harboring about yourself and the world. Beliefs which may have been shaping your perspective for years without your awareness. I also tend to explore the relationship you have with yourself, and how it makes its way into your connection with other people. This process can be demanding, and I make sure that you feel safe and supported throughout it. This often involves helping you to adopt adequate coping skills to help you through whatever daily challenges you might be experiencing.

I find that the two most important conditions for therapy to be effective are safety and compassion. Therefore, I make an effort to work at a pace that feels comfortable for you. The goal is to develop a relationship in which you feel like you can trust me with the intimate details of your inner life. Developing that takes a varying amount of time and effort for each person, and I make pretty active efforts to respect that. Compassion means that I take an actively curious and non-judgmental stance towards anything that is important enough for you to bring to our sessions. It means that I accept you and don't need you to change, but that I will do everything I can to help reconnect you with the most essential and mature parts of yourself. In my experience, it is much more fruitful to explore the honest reasons why we do the things we judge ourselves for instead of blindly writing them off. Ultimately, the more I can reflect your truth, the less you will experience the dissonance you are seeking solace from.

I think it's important to establish that I work with clients, not on clients. Therapy is a collaborative process which requires presence and curiosity from both parties. I make efforts to learn about the circumstances which are unique to your life and experience instead of analyzing from a place of distance. I am passionate about music, learning, nature, cooking, and the important relationships in my life. I know what it is like to grow distant from these things during periods of my own personal difficulties. I therefore aim to explore what is keeping you from connecting with the things that make you feel more alive. Lastly, I find that authenticity is an important part of this process. I will be encouraging you to provide your honest feedback and reactions to the work that we do. I will also provide my authentic observations when it is appropriate. It is in this fashion that we will develop a meaningful professional relationship through which we will pursue your goals.

• Massachusetts, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, 12821

My work in the field of mental health has taken place in a variety of settings including residential substance abuse treatment, inpatient psychiatric units, and clients' homes. During that time, I have worked closely with clients ranging from 7 to 65 years of age. The most profound and expansive of these positions followed my graduate education, and it involved working as a therapist within a residential substance abuse treatment facility. There, I lead multiple formats of group therapy while developing relationships and conducing individual sessions with the clients in the program. while many people might believe that work within the field of substance abuse might be limiting in its scope, it was precisely in this setting that I was most challenged to expand my my skills and expertise in order to meet the diverse needs of the patients there.