hi! I’m Michael
I am currently completing my Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology. As a clinical intern at Agave Studio in Chicago, I am working toward licensure in both Illinois and Hawaiʻi—two places I call home.
Beyond the clinical space, my heart for mentorship has been rooted in a decade-long commitment to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago. I believe we are built for belonging—to ourselves, to one another, and to our community—and my work is fueled by the belief that no one should have to navigate life’s complexity alone.
Random facts: I have lived in Prague for 20 years, I am the youngest of 5 children, I like fall and spring better than winter and summer, I am all about the concepts of hygge and teolaí and lagom (look these up!), I love to have deep conversations and eat good food with my favorite people, I love long walks in pretty places, I am 4w5 on the enneagram and an INFJ, and I absolutely love my work.
Areas of Clinical Interest
Religious Trauma & Reconstruction
Sexual Wholeness & Addiction
Anxiety & Depression
Codependency & Relational Patterns
Body Image & Somatic Awareness
Education & Training
M.A. in Counseling Psychology
The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology
B.A. in Communication
Wheaton College
Children & Teens Grief Facilitation Certification
The Dougy Center for Grieving Children & Families
My approach
Engaging the complexities and contradictions of our stories requires courage. Often, the painful habits we find ourselves trapped in are simply defenses we developed long ago in moments when we desperately needed protection. We have good reasons for choosing to turn away from pain, but our work is not about running away from suffering. Instead, it is a sacred process of turning toward our pain, giving it a voice, and allowing it to guide us on a path towards a new way of being.
I offer a soft place to land to look honestly at how you got here. I approach therapy from a relational psychoanalytic lens, which means we will look at how your past is living in your present and how your internal world shapes your current life and relationships. We are all woven from ancestral stories, internal mythologies, and cultural traditions passed down to us. When this unfinished business cannot be talked about, it is often acted out, showing up as a sense of stuckness or fractures in our relationships. Together, we will practice a radical openness where you are invited to speak as freely as possible. In our sessions, you are the expert of your life; I am the passenger and the witness, holding a non-judgmental space where every part of you—the glorious, the petty, the fearful, and the divine—is invited to have a seat.
Moving at the speed of trust, we will begin to reconnect the pieces of your story and invite all the hidden or silenced parts of yourself back into the room.
As a gay, cismale therapist, I am deeply committed to helping clients dismantle rigid societal or cultural narratives that wound their innate self-worth. I offer an inclusive, affirming space to explore the complex questions of your life. During our time, you will be invited to trust your own experience, cultivate an imagination for a new way of being in the world, and live with a real sense of authenticity and congruence. Together, we will explore: What does the healed version of you look like?
About Agave Studio
As a clinician-in-training at Agave Studio, my work is guided by an interdisciplinary and holistic model of wellness. This framework ensures our time together is:
Interdisciplinary: Drawing on both psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral approaches to honor the complexity of your experience.
Trauma-Informed: Recognizing that the "shocks" of life require a space that knows how to hold and treat acute and complex trauma.
Spiritually Minded: Honoring your faith, beliefs, and questioning as a vital part of your identity and flourishing.
Embodied: Integrating the body as your greatest tool for regulation and wholeness.

