Matthew Pieknik

You have a story about yourself — about who you are, what you're capable of, what you deserve. Chances are, you didn't write all of it. Parts came from your family, your culture, old wounds, expectations you never agreed to. And chances are, some of that story no longer fits. I come to psychotherapy from an unusual place: a background in literature and literary theory, and twenty years of teaching and counseling before I ever became a therapist. That means I listen differently. I pay close attention to the language you use, the stories you tell about yourself, and the larger narratives — familial, generational, cultural, even unconscious — that have been shaping you long before you had a say in the matter. Together, we co-author something new. Not by erasing your history, but by loosening its grip — finding the parts of the old story that were never really true, and uncovering resources you didn't know you had to build the life you actually want. Sexuality often has a central role in this work; it's rarely peripheral to who we are and who we're becoming, and I make room for it accordingly. I work most often with anxiety, depression, mood disorders, personality disorders, and relationship conflict — but more than any diagnosis, I'm interested in the story underneath it, and in helping you become its author instead of its subject. If this resonates, I'd love to talk.