Brett Wagner LMSW

We all carry pain. This pain can come from many places. For many of us as queer people, it may come from navigating the world with one or more stigmatized identities, or simply from our broader lived experiences. I see therapy as an opportunity to understand and connect to your inner self, your identities, and your pain. I aim for you to feel seen, heard, and held, and for you to see that you, with all your complexities and pain, are whole and enough, just as you are. We will attend to areas of struggle and celebrate your already existing areas of strength. In this way, we can work together to ease the burden of the pain you carry and find relief and healing. To feel joy, as well as pain, is our humanity.

The central tenet of my approach to our work together is mutual curiosity. Together, you and I will co-create a space where you can gain a better understanding of all the different parts of you, where you can discover and grow, and unlearn and shed those things which may not suit your growth, and where you can be both held and challenged with care and compassion.

My therapeutic approach is integrative, meaning I pull from different lenses depending on what feels most helpful in the moment. We can utilize a psychodynamic approach to understand how your past experiences may impact you in the present, a cognitive behavioral approach to build awareness around and change unconscious thought patterns that no longer serve you, or a systems approach to acknowledge the impact family, cultural, and institutional systems may have on your life. Overlaying all this, I approach our work together with authenticity, humor, and warmth.

Tapping into the vulnerability therapy requires isn’t easy, but you are here, already having taken the first huge step in this process. Good for you. Let’s explore together.

I have specialized training and expertise in working with: gender, sexuality, LGBTQIA+ people and communities, poly/non-monogamy, kink, BDSM, leather, fetishes, sex work, asexuality, sexual shame, online dating/hook-up apps, relationships and relationship conflict, intimacy and desire, depression, mindfulness, anxiety, trauma, addiction and substance use, self-esteem, body image/dysmorphia, aging, chronic health issues/pain, HIV/AIDS, sexual health, PrEP/PEP, grief and loss, professional development and satisfaction, white accountability and antiracist culture, advocacy and social justice, and self-actualization.