Michael MacLafferty, LMFT

Everyone encounters feelings of dissatisfaction and confusion in their lives, questioning their choices, their direction, or even who they are at the core. I provide a calm, nonjudgmental space for you to share the things that trouble you, especially the things that are hard to share or the parts of you that you may not feel good about. I work to help you see how what you feel makes sense, making connections to past experiences, and coming to new self-understanding and acceptance.

I have been engaged in my own therapy for many years and believe in the process from both sides of the couch. Therapy has been invaluable in encouraging more rich and real relationships with myself and others. I am interested in the ways people have tried to understand the mysteries of life, including psychology, astrology, science, and spirituality. I'm also a bit of a comic book and movie nerd.

I help you to identify and clarify your thoughts, feelings, and sensations, paying equal attention to mind, heart, and body. I look for where shame might be lurking and am comfortable hanging out in the dark places. I think that deep changes take time, and find value in the therapy relationship that builds over time. Astrology and the Enneagram are tools I sometimes use to give a framework for understanding personality.

My identity as a disabled person has made a big impact on me politically. It has been my entry into understanding privilege of various kinds, the social model of disability, and radical intersectional feminism. It is through these lenses that I view and critique society. As a white, cisgendered, heterosexual man I welcome explorations of privilege and social justice. I have also been a student of astrology for several years, which adds a bit of order and wonder to my perspective on life. On the other hand, as nice as it would be to believe “everything happens for a reason,” I don't think people manifest or deserve everything that happens to them, and sometimes life is unfairly difficult.