Hi, I’m Mat. I’m a regular human being like you who happens to also be a trained mental health therapist with a passion for helping others.
I know the decision to come to counseling can be very difficult for many individuals. Taking that leap into the unknown can be scary (coming into counseling for the first time or seeing a new counselor if you have had counseling before). I believe an individual decides to come to therapy because they have tried everything they can think of to improve their situation but have become stuck. The goal in therapy is to assist the client in becoming ‘unstuck’ and taking steps towards a more rich and meaningful life. I will do this from a down to earth, non judgmental, and accepting stance.
Therapeutic Approach
Thoughts, emotions, joy, pain, sadness, anger, etc…these are all normal parts of being human. Yes, there are varying degrees of issues I have worked with but we are all climbing our own mountains here. Some are tougher than others but they are still mountains. My clients, whether homeless or wealthy, uneducated or have doctoral degrees..they all have at least one thing in common: they are all human beings who experience difficult thoughts and feelings.
My approach is a type of CBT called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) although I also use techniques and ideas from other therapies based on what the individual needs. In ACT, I will work with you on getting your life going in the direction you want it to be going while also helping you to better handle the obstacles along the way. As ACT is an action based therapy, it pairs well with ERP for help with OCD.
If wanting to know more about ACT, check out the next page.
Specialties
OCD, phobias, panic disorders, and other anxiety issues. My work is not limited to these specialties, however, as I also have lots of experience in other areas (see below).
Experience
I have been practicing counseling for 11 years and have been working in the field of mental health for 16 years.
In addition to working as a therapist, I have worked on a crisis unit, in a psychiatric hospital, group homes, and as an emergency services clinician doing crisis evaluations. While all of those past jobs have been mostly very stressful, I am grateful to have a well rounded background as I feel this has helped me as a therapist. It has allowed me to work with a wide range of mental health issues across multiple levels of care.
Professional Training
The trainings I have completed include multiple workshops for Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) to treat OCD and related disorders. I have also taken many ACT workshops for anxiety, pain, grief, OCD, and BFRBs. I’ve also had trainings in gender affirming care as well as professional letter writing for gender affirming care. In addition to these, other trainings include mindfulness, chronic pain, flash technique, the mind-gut connection, and the graduate school I went to was highly behavior-oriented providing me with a solid base in behavior therapies.
Support Staff
Mat Barbosa LMHC 