Matthew Morse
In my twenties, I studied philosophy and English literature. Prior to becoming a therapist, I worked for 15 years in magazine journalism. I worked for 6 years in hospice care, first as an interfaith chaplain and then as a bereavement counselor. I enjoy nature and the arts: music, poetry and painting. I practice Tibetan Buddhism. I've been married for 30 years and have two adult daughters. I'm psychedelic positive and have received advanced training in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. I see talk therapy (psychotherapy) as an ancient wisdom tradition that involves prioritizing the client and their concerns. That said, I'm not a poker-faced therapist and, when appropriate, I'm happy to disclose stories from my own life experience. I'm wary of many of the gimmicky new techniques out there. At bottom, we're hurt by human relationships and we're healed by human relationships. It's important that you find a therapist that you connect with...as the therapeutic alliance is everything. Therapy can help you to learn to cope with the emotional and physical pain that's taken over your life. Even though it may feel hard to believe right now, you can begin to turn down the volume on your anxiety and/or addiction. You want to sleep well again and wake up with energy. By deepening your understanding of your life story and go-too defense mechanisms, you'll become more resilient when future life stressors inevitably pile up or hit you sideways.