James Whalen (He/Him)

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy teaches us to learn how to sit with our distress and accept it, in order to help us relate to our thoughts and feelings in ways that don't increase the suffering that's natural to your situation. It helps us learn to live our lives according to our values, with the understanding that we have control of our behavior and not our thoughts. ACT is most helpful for clients with anxiety and depression.

Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is one of the oldest and best research-supported modalities that we have, and has been adapted to a wide range of presenting issues, though it originated with depression. It's also the gold standard for therapy treating ADHD at present. CBT focuses on identifying the links between our thoughts, our emotions, and our behavior, as well as patterns in how those three interact that are causing harm in your life.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

I do not provide the full course of DBT. It's a therapy with a high degree of commitment required from both parties, and therefore would not be appropriate for once-weekly telehealth services. However, there are many skills and concepts in DBT that are broadly applicable, and I bring in these elements when it feels like they would be helpful on an individual basis. These include mindfulness skills, distress tolerance skills, and dialectical concepts.

Men's Issues

I specialize in working with people who identify as male, and am interested in exploring the intersection between your own concepts of masculinity, society's expectations, and mental health. I enjoy helping men find ways to relate to and regulate emotion that utilize the strength and resilience that masculinity can provide, while also recognizing the ways that expectations of men and the ways we relate to emotion can harm us. I am also comfortable addressing concerns about male sexual health.

ADHD

As someone who has been diagnosed with ADHD myself, I have the lived experience of managing associated symptoms, as well as the training to ensure that my interventions with you are evidence-based. I recognize that ADHD comes with both biological differences and cognitive impacts that can be unpacked and re-oriented to serve your particular style most effectively. I'm also very familiar with how ADHD's intersection with identity can make symptoms look different in every individual.

Depression

I have several years of experience working with people who have experienced intense and often treatment resistant depression, and I understand how hopeless and frustrating it is being stuck in the negative thought and mood cycles that are a part of its cause. I take a two-sided approach of working to challenge these negative thought patterns while also helping you to recognize the things you're grateful for in your life, and your own strengths.

Anxiety

Anxiety has many forms, and almost all of them are uncomfortable, painful experiences. I tend to use my calming presence to help anxious clients feel safe in the therapy environment. Once we've established a sense of safety, we can move on to learning about the roots of your anxiety and how to change your relationship with those roots so that you can learn to respond to your symptoms more effectively.