
Yak’éi ixhwsateení!
It is good to see you!
The tl;dr:
I am a Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist in California, USA (AMFT #14531). I am employed at two locations: Margin to Center Therapy in Benicia, CA (supervised by Dr. Sheila Addison, LMFT #49616) and Rhizome Wellness Collective in Arcata, CA (supervised by Dylan McClure, LCSW #94217). In addition to my Master of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology, I have additional training in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Gestalt Therapy, mindfulness meditation, and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT).
My Practice
Chances are, if you’ve found your way here, you’ve been seeking a therapist who can welcome the whole you.
Maybe you’re struggling with something new and big in your life right now, or with something that has been with you for a long time.
Maybe it’s a lot of things, all at once.
Maybe things are okay, and you want to try taking care of yourself in a new way.
Maybe you aren’t even sure if this whole therapy thing is really what you want yet.
That’s all welcome here. I make space for complexity, intensity, and uncertainty.
My Approach
My primary training is in Gestalt, a kind of mindfulness-based experiential and somatic therapy that encourages us to “be present with what is present.” I also bring in Parts Work (similar to IFS), Mindfulness and Self-compassion, Attachment Theory, Narrative Therapy, and Psychodynamic Therapy.
All of these modalities play well together, because they help us connect the dots between the emotions, tendencies, and survival strategies we have now and the events, systems, stories, and relationships that shaped us throughout our lives, allowing us to release patterns that no longer serve us and move forward with intention.
Additionally, I am trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), a technique that helps us change our relationships with traumatic experiences, and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), which helps us identify, connect with, understand, and communicate our feelings and attachment styles. Lastly, I often bring in Transpersonal Therapy, which helps us connect to things that bring us a sense of meaning and purpose, whether this be spirituality, religion, philosophy, community, or justice.
Read more about the kind of therapy I practice here.
Who I Am
If we are going to embark on this therapy endeavor together, you might wonder about who I am. I come to this work from several prior careers, and I exist at multiple intersections of identity, including queerness, transness, neurodivergence, chronic illness, and an Indigenous and white heritage (I am an enrolled member of a Federally-recognized tribe). Originally from Alaska, I am an Elder Millennial with a mixed-class experience, a personal spiritual practice, and an ex-Catholic background. In addition to my passion for decolonial psychology, I am an unabashed nerd about birds, plants, art, my culture, and all kinds of speculative fiction. I became a therapist in part because I saw that in this field, there weren’t very many people like me, and I wanted to do my part to help change that. I believe that everyone deserves a therapist who can welcome and hold space for them in all their many facets of identity and experience. I encourage you to bring as much of your whole, complicated self to therapy as you wish!
I welcome clients from all walks of life, and I specialize in clients with the following experiences and identities:
Trans, nonbinary, genderqueer, and/or gender nonconforming people
Two-Spirit and IndigiQueer folx
Queer, Gay, Lesbian, Bi, Pan, Ace, Aro, Questioning, and more
Polyam/CNM
Kink and BDSM community members
Neurodivergence
Disability, chronic pain, and/or chronic illness
Mixed or complex race, ethnicity, heritage, and/or culture
Indigenous people
Spiritual people, pagans/polytheists, clergy, UUs, “culturally Catholic” folx, and “recovering”/ex-Catholics
Artists, writers, and craftspeople
Academics and college/university professionals and students
Veterinarians, vet techs, and pet professionals
Therapy/Counseling Psychology students and trainees
Laboratory techs
Wildlife, biology, zoology, natural history, and museum professionals and students
People from rural and non-urban communities or backgrounds
People identified with nerd/geek/fandom communities
Credentials, Training, Affiliations, and More
Graduate Education
Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Integral Counseling Psychology, California Institute of Integral Studies
Credentials
California Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist #145310, supervised by Dr. Sheila Addison, LMFT #49616. Employed at Margin to Center Therapy
Additional Training & Certifications
EMDR Trained, Institute for Creative Mindfulness (EMDIRA-approved)
Neurodivergent-Affirming Clinician Certificate, Cascadia Training for Professional Development
Mindfulness Mentor Certificate, Banyan (with Tara Brach & Jack Kornfield)
Sex Therapy Certificate, California Institute of Integral Studies
EFT for Couples Externship and Core Skills trainings, ICEEFT
Gottman Level 1 (LGBTQIA+ and polyam/CNM affirming)
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Counseling Certificate, Telehealth Certification Institute
Geek Therapy Certified, Geek Therapy Institute
Find Me Online:
Ryan Kozisek on Facebook
DHMS: Deconstructing the Mental Health System