Matt Halvorson
When you don’t have a clear answer, one of the most frustrating questions can be, “What do you want to do with your life?” My answer was not clear until I realized that my life is focused on two key concepts: a passion for helping others and a creative intrigue with the inner workings of the mind.
The field of therapy melds these two ideas together and gives me the chance to dig deeper into one of the most common questions we hear each day, “How are you?” I believe that we are each the experts of our own lives and the act of seeking help from a therapist is a positive step to bring another person in to support us in our own personal discovery.
Therapy with me is about asking simple questions, encouraging genuine answers, and facilitating insight that makes a difference. I am most alive when I have the chance to meet people in the mess of life, explore their hopes, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and collaborate with them towards genuine and authentic hope.
I’ve spent the past decade working closely with clients and emerging therapists, shaped by the belief that growth happens in connection. I earned my Bachelors in Psychology from Dickinson College and my Masters in Educational Psychology from The University of Texas at Austin.
I’ve spent the past 12 years in Austin, a place that has offered creativity, community and countless meaningful relationships. I grew up in the Midwest, and those roots still shape how I show up—grounded, warm, and curious about people’s stories. Now, as I make my way to north Indianapolis, I’m excited for a new chapter—one that brings me closer to family, opens space for fresh connections, and continues the work I care deeply about.
My Approach to Therapy
I believe that therapy is client-focused, collaborative, and intentional. Each individual has a unique and culturally diverse situation that is best understood in that complex context. I do not pretend to be an expert in your life and do not offer a magic bullet. What I do offer is a safe and supportive space to join you as you take on life’s joys and challenges.
I practice from a mix of a psychodynamic perspective (which means that I care about how you grew up and what you learned about yourself and your place in the world), interpersonal process psychology (which means I want to process the here and now thoughts and feelings in the room including how you may feel towards me) and a cognitive behavioral therapy perspective (which means I like to be intentional to connect your thoughts/beliefs with your actions in order to understand them better). My style also includes analogies and connected stories as they can be helpful for us to communicate our world, relate to others and understand ourselves more deeply.
My focal points
Life is stressful. It is important to find what works for us as unique individuals to help us manage that stress and cope the best we can. Some of therapy will be brainstorming what is working and what other techniques may be effective for you.
Coping skills
Becoming aware of patterns in our individual and cultural history and exploring them with compassion and curiosity can help us understand how we became the people we are today. Awareness of the roles we regularly take on or the situations we routinely find ourselves in is a good start. When we pair that awareness with confidence to decide what patterns to continue and what to change, we can create more clarity in the person we are and the person we want to grow into.
Patterns
Relational dynamics or emotions that come up in the therapy office between client and therapist often mimic outside dynamics in the real world. In Individual or group therapy, we have the chance to slow down, process and investigate those moments in real time to learn more about ourselves and the ways we interact with ourselves and others.