Mx. Will Abshier LPC

Receiving support of any kind, therapy or otherwise, can seem overly complex. What do I really need? Is the thing I'm asking for the thing that's actually going to help?? Where do I even begin??? It's important to me that my clients well understand the support they receive in therapy so that they can integrate it into their daily lives. The meaning behind my business name, Doing Being Therapy, illustrates this. In life there are things we need to DO: problem solve, attend to tasks of daily living, build community, move toward important goals, and there are things we need to BE: experiencing our own lives, feeling our emotions, being ourselves, safe & secure. I help clients in sessions to find the balance between DOING and BEING by providing problem solving & skills training to address factors affecting clients' quality of life (DOING) and creating a space in which folks learn to receive validation of their own experiences, live more in the present moment, and find peace with their emotions (BEING). Clients who work with me are clear on their own skills development and work towards fuller and more meaningful lives.

Through my life journey I have personally met many challenges: an anxiety disorder which began in childhood, coming out as a gay & nonbinary person, rejection from my community of faith (religious trauma), familial rejection, and many other unnamed struggles. In my recovery from my own challenges I have found such great meaning and richness in my life. I'm grateful for the loved ones and my own therapy which turned me onto the path to alchemize my pains. Today I hold it as a great honor to support others navigating their own suffering in life. I may not hold the same identities as the folks I serve, but my own struggles have taught me how to empower my clients with deep compassion and real solutions.

The folks I have served have described me as warm, eccentric at times, and easy to speak with. In my personal life I enjoy nurturing my own creativity and personal freedom. This shows up in my approach as I guide folks toward their own authentic values and freedom in life. I want folks to feel that they can open up in therapy, approach difficult topics, and also find great joy & zest for life along the way.

• Texas, Licensed Professional Counselor, 94424

My path to being a therapist began in community organizing. In 2013 I began working as a volunteer support group facilitator at our local LGBT center in Baltimore, MD. I was deeply impacted by the experiences of our group participants and the community that grew from that connection. Humbled by this experience I committed myself to become a better resource to my LGBTQ+ community and really any human who has experienced suffering that left them feeling isolated from a full & meaningful life. After moving to San Diego in 2015 I began my MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at the University of San Diego where I gained clinical skills to provide therapy effectively. In my internship I served at the San Diego City Community College where I focused on the mental health and wellness of LGBTQ+ students. In 2019 I joined Personal Evolution Psychotherapy, a private practice specializing in LGBTQ+ mental health and DBT. At PEP I underwent my 40 hour foundational DBT training & certification. In 2021 I was proud to join the staff of the San Diego LGBT Community Center's Behavioral Health Services. At the SD LGBT Center I provided free & low-cost mental health counseling services to our community. Now, in 2024, we have relocated to San Antonio to be closer with our family in our home state. I am excited to serve in Texas providing mental health counseling to the communities I love through my own private counseling practice, Doing Being Therapy, PLLC.