Nick Vaske, LCSW (he/him)

Internal Family Systems (IFS)

Rather than having one solid personality, we have multiple internal parts or subpersonalities that developed to help us cope with intense situations and have taken on extreme thoughts, feelings or behaviors. This can look like getting flooded suddenly by anxiety, an internal debate that goes in circles, a highly critical voice, an addictive behavior, or a physical sensation. With IFS, we work to get to know and appreciate our parts so they can take on more helpful roles in our current life.

Narrative 

My graduate training is primarily in narrative therapy, and my approach is to engage in self-exploration by taking an outside, curious perspective of ourselves and our stories, gain greater insight into the events that have shaped us, enrich our stories by recognizing our resilience, and use that knowledge and perspective to better define what we would like our futures to be.

Relational 

We do not live in isolation, and our relationships to others and to our communities and culture influence us in many ways. Relational therapy aims to understand how the relationships in our lives and cultural/systemic forces shape who we are, and how we are doing in turn influences our relationships. The therapeutic relationship between you and I also offers a direct experiential opportunity for us to explore and work on relationship dynamics.

LGBTQ Issues

I am a queer-identified person and member of the LGBTQIA+ community. I have worked with adults and youth in both inpatient and outpatient settings around their sexual orientations and gender identities to build knowledge, understanding, self-compassion, and appreciation for how wonderful they are, find community, and better cope with a society that is often oppressive.

Cultural and Systemic Oppression

The world, and the US specifically, feels like a hot mess right now. Our struggles are not just personal and internal, the world we live in has a huge impact on how we experience the world. It is important to me to recognize the systemic forces that impact us and unpack internalized homophobia/misogyny/transmisogyny/racism. We cannot escape the culture we live in, but we can figure out how you want to push back, how you want to protect yourself, and ways to let go of what you've internalized.

Bipolar

I have three years of experience working specifically with adults with severe mental illness including bipolar disorders in varying stages of recovery. I also have lived experience with bipolar disorder that I can draw from when it is helpful to relate, while also recognizing that everyone's experience is unique.

Child or Adolescent Issues

Most of my career has been working with youth in foster care, mentoring, and in residential placements for youth who have been adjudicated and are on probation or parole. I am goofy, a gamer, relatable and patient.

Sexual Abuse

I have several years of experience working with survivors of DV/SA as an advocate and therapist. I have multiple years of experience working with youth who have perpetrated sexual abuse as a mentor and therapist.