David Wieder

I think it’s helpful for my clients to know why I do this work. I come from a family with a lot of intergenerational trauma: war refugees, parental abandonment, sexual trauma, addiction, and suicide. My first step on the path to becoming a therapist was learning how to deal with my own anxiety and depression. Working in mental health treatment has led me to an understanding my own inner workings and it continually reminds me of where I can get myself into trouble. What keeps me in this field is a desire to share what I know and help others. My training is rooted in my experiences in wilderness and adventure therapy work. Living in small groups taught me about what it really means to be human. This perspective is beneficial to my clients’ relationships, it informs the self-care habits I teach, and it helps me in explaining why creating meaning guards us from mental health issues. I believe that clients’ unique cultural context and socio-economic experience should inform therapy.