“Before becoming a therapist, I planned to teach high school English. A therapy career suited me more. One of the things I like about therapy is that there’s no formal curriculum, only what clients bring into the room, which allows me to remain fully present and responsive. Therapy also offers a rare privacy in which silence is welcome, there is no external pressure to perform or come up with answers, and clients can feel safe enough to share something deeply meaningful and personal. It is very rewarding to hear “I’ve never told anyone that” or to witness the courage and generosity required when a client chooses to open their life up for consideration and appraisal.
“I know how hard it can be for me to ask for help in my own life. I don’t believe there is any problem that is too little or too big for therapy. You don’t need to fully understand the problem or how to talk about it, let alone have solutions in mind before beginning. That’s what therapy is for. And while you may have been able to endure difficult times all by yourself in the past, it doesn’t mean you should have to continue to do so.”
Because the quality of the therapist–client relationship is the strongest predictor of success, Gordon places particular emphasis on building an authentic, collaborative partnership grounded in earned trust, mutual respect and shared humor and goals. He strives to create a space that feels consistently welcoming and nonjudgmental, and describes his style as relaxed enough to support openness and direct enough to help clients roll up their sleeves and make meaningful headway. He lets his clients set the pace and places importance on outcomes and value in terms of expenditures of time, effort and money spent in therapy.
Gordon draws from a range of evidence-based approaches (such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Compassion-Focused Therapy, and Functional Analytic Psychotherapy) which he adapts to each client’s unique circumstances, preferences and needs. His practice is trauma-informed, compassion-focused, attentive to cultural context, and respectful of each client’s lived experience.
Gordon’s previous experience includes case management with unhoused and psychiatrically hospitalized members of the Grand Rapids community, as well as crisis response with corporate employees from across the country following critical workplace events (such as accidents, fatalities, armed robbery, and the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay shooting). He holds a bachelor’s degree in English education from Indiana University–Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) and a master’s degree in clinical social work from Western Michigan University.
