Kurt Kiswaled, LSW

Identity can be confusing and that’s ok! You don’t have to be alone in figuring out who you are and why you are. Using a liberation approach to therapy, I try and center the systems that impact how we may feel about ourselves, and help you work on ways to liberate yourself from how those systems limit you. I know how important it is to create a safe, validating, and affirming environment for my clients and I strive to do so, carefully considering the unique needs of every person I work with.

I approach therapy with an acknowledgement that certain identities are criminalized, and having a criminalized identity can be traumatizing. Sexuality, gender, race, ethnicity, ability, class, relationship orientation, and even how you have sex can all be stigmatized and demonized in a society built on oppression and shame. Living in a society that criminalizes certain identities can keep marginalized folks in a constant state of surviving; and in a society that constantly attacks us, thriving is resistance. I believe that self-love and being in community are vital tools to liberation. While I do acknowledge that healing can be an individual journey, I recognize that healing work cannot be truly successful until we are free from the systems of oppression that harm us in the first place. I center the importance in dismantling those systems in my practice.

I strive to be a nonjudgemental therapist who values what my clients’ goals are. I believe therapy should not be stressful, but rather a journey of growth that I can accompany you on. My goal for my clients is always for them to thrive in a way that makes sense to them. I utilize aspects of many modalities, including somatic, Internal Family Systems (IFS) or parts work, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Gottman Relationship Therapy. I understand that clients’ needs are unique, so the types of modalities I use with clients are based on what the client reports are best for them. I hope this gives my clients the power to make therapy what they want of it, with a safe and affirming environment. However messy, stressful, or painful it may be, I will accompany you on your path to creating an authentic relationship with yourself and others.

I provide individual and relationship therapy. My scope includes:

I identify as a disabled, Iraqi, kinky, poly, queer, trans man. I am a health at every size, anti-racist, covid cautious, sex positive, and abolitionist clinician who is continuing to learn about decolonizing therapy. I hope to continue incorporating decolonial values into my work, with the acknowledgement that we live under capitalism and that I can realistically only go so far. While I see straight and cis clients as well, I believe that our queer and trans elders, especially those of color, have paved the way towards liberation for us all. I center the teachings of those who struggled before us, because we can learn a lot from their acts of resistance. No matter how you identify, I believe we can all benefit from some gay therapy.

For inquiries, reach out to [email protected].