About
My Approach
My therapeutic stance is client-centered from a person-in-environment and cultural perspective. The quality of the relationship between the therapist and the client is paramount. It's through this relationship that healing and growth occur. I join a person-centered and direct approach to initiate change. I understand the unique struggles faced by people of color and within the LGBTQIA community; and am committed to providing culturally affirming care to those exploring diverse relationships.
In both individual and couples work, I utilize Relational Life Therapy (RLT) developed by Terrence Real. RLT examines the long-held “losing strategies” individuals adopt in their interactions, such as control, walled-off withdrawal, passive aggression and blame. I utilize "loving confrontation" to help clients become aware of negative behaviors that impact their relationships. Many therapy models teach you skills, the RLT approach works with the part of you that doesn't want to use them. We explore how early experiences shape present-day interactions, and then learn concrete tools and skills like direct communication, conflict resolution, and boundary setting. You will learn to relate well and be relational with those around you.
Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy (RO-DBT) is a lens helpful for clients working to move away from perfectionistic, rigid, and obsessive thought behaviors. Practiced both in the individual and couples work, RO-DBT utilizes a direct skills-based approach to increase openness, flexibility, and to learn tolerance for vulnerability. Clients gain tolerance to reframe perceived threats and move towards vulnerability to connect and move past the fear of rejection.
Background & Training
I bring a blend of clinical training, real-world experience, and ongoing consultation to my supervision work. Some highlights of my background:
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Developed by Terry Real and the Real Life Institute for Couples and Individuals to build greater intimacy, vulnerability and to decrease grandiosity, shame and build self-esteem to live relationally
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Skills for over-controlled coping; Decrease Rejection Sensitivity; OCD, Autism Spectrum, Disordered-Eating
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Mindfulness /Emotion Regulation / Interpersonal Skills / Distress Tolerance
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Parts work / Family Roles
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Trained with Juliane Taylor Shore – leading educator, therapist and author in interpersonal neurobiology and boundary work
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Examines how early childhood relationships with caregivers influence an individual's ability to form healthy relationships later in life
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I am able to provide a varied occupational perspective and world experience. After 15 years in a corporate business environment I decided to build a life more fulfilling helping others! First working in non-profits, then the healthcare sector, ultimately to group private practices, and now personal private practice.
ABOUT
Susan Kearney, LCSW-S
I practice relational living in my daily life with clients, with my partner and my son, and with my family and friends. I find personal joy and fulfillment working with my clients. It truly is an honor to walk alongside my fellow travelers! In my personal time, you’ll find me outside, usually on a hike with my son and Golden Doodle Rooster or on a casual workout or run. I love traveling for live music concerts, camping, or enjoying food and laughing with friends. Life is an adventure, so I try to get out and experience it!
I received Bachelors degrees from University of Texas at Austin, and University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. I always say, my younger self (ruled by perfectionism) allowed me to have multiple careers. I have worked in Training, Public Relations, Sales, and after my own therapeutic work, finally wanted to help others in a different way. I decided to return to school to earn my Masters in Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin, with a focus in Substance Use Disorders and Co-occurring Psychiatric Disorders studies. My clinical practicum included working with clients re-entering the workforce after release from the criminal justice system, with a specific focus in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy (RO-DBT) at Ascension Behavioral Health Intensive Outpatient Program. I am passionate about working with other social workers to support other mental health professionals in their personal and professional journey. I work as a Clinical Supervisor for social workers progressing with clinical hours and working to earn their LCSW licensure. If I can help you on your clinical journey, more information about supervision can be found here.
ABOUT
James Bain, LMSW
Superivsed by Susan Kearney LCSW-S
Therapy with me is collaborative, warm, and a little bit irreverent. I ask a lot of questions, make very few assumptions, and try to help you hear what you're already saying — sometimes you're just too in the weeds of your own life to catch it. When you're ready, I'll gently push and even challenge you.
I work with teens and adults of all genders. A good chunk of my work is what I think of as therapy for the modern man. Men today are navigating things that didn't have clear names a generation ago — shrinking social circles and harder-to-build friendships, the identity reckoning that quietly comes with getting older, and the work of figuring out which old ideas about being a man are still serving you and which ones aren't. You don't need a crisis to start. Sometimes it's just the sense that the old playbook isn't working anymore.
More broadly, I see clients working through anxiety, stress and burnout, self-esteem, life and career transitions, family conflict, and the kind of low-grade "something's off" that's hard to name. Many of my clients are new to therapy and not entirely sure what they're doing here. That's okay. We figure it out together.
I also especially enjoy working with neurodivergent clients. Some of the sharpest and funniest people I know are neurodivergent, and a lot of what gets framed as a "problem" is often a strength looking for a better fit with the world. In sessions I tend to be direct, concrete, and easy to interrupt — which tends to land well with clients who find typical therapy slow or vague.
In session, I draw primarily on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness, and solutions-focused approaches, with DBT, RO-DBT, and RLT skills woven in where they fit. The goal isn't to leave you with a long list of techniques; it's to help you build a few you'll actually use.
Background & Training
I bring a blend of clinical training and a long previous career outside the mental health field. Some highlights:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) — Identifying and reshaping the thought patterns that drive how we feel and act
Mindfulness — Building present-moment awareness to interrupt anxiety, reactivity, and self-criticism
Solutions-Focused Therapy — Working forward from what's already working, rather than getting stuck in the diagnosis
DBT Skills — Emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness — including work with BPD, depression, self-harm, and family dynamics
Adolescent residential treatment — Over 1,000 clinical hours at the San Marcos Treatment Center working directly with teens and their families
Neurodivergent-affirming work — Particular interest and experience with autistic and ADHD adults and teens, including clinical hours with ASD-diagnosed teens during my residential training
Private practice with a predominantly male clientele — Working through the effects of toxic masculinity, social isolation, relationship and family dynamics, and career challenges and transitions
Diverse work experience — More than a decade in executive roles at tech startups after earning my MBA from the University of Chicago. The career-change perspective lets me work fluently with the stress, identity questions, and transitions that come with modern work life.
