Zach Ossefort, LMSW, LCDC
Zach Ossefort, LMSW, LCDC
Licensed Master Social Worker
Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor
Supervised by: Dane DeCiero, LCSW-S
Pronouns: he/him/his
Tired of reading therapist bios? Feel like therapy doesn’t “work” for you? We may be a good fit.
Therapy is more than just what happens in a therapy session. Therapy is a state of being, a mindset that you can carry with you forever. It is a mindset of freedom and flexibility, curiosity and exploration, authenticity and empowerment. Therapy is the noble task of courageously moving toward difficult feelings instead of avoiding them, a process of undoing shame and fear that have held you back from knowing yourself. Therapy is a space where anything feels possible, because you are seen as the complex human being that you are. I want to share this space with you.
I strive to create a safe atmosphere in which anything can be spoken aloud, including thoughts and feelings that are not welcome in normal polite conversation. My style is relaxed and natural, not forced or artificial, and I encourage you to let go of the need to “perform” or behave a certain way in therapy. I want to understand who you really are, on your terms. I believe that by telling your story as truthfully as possible, you will grow to deepen your relationships and live a more authentic life. I see therapy as an art form, in which therapist and client are creative collaborators. Sessions can be profound, gut-wrenching, refreshing, funny, surprising, challenging, exhilarating… Words cannot express the possibilities.
Working from an attachment perspective, I want to understand how your early relationships shaped who you are, and support you in healing past wounds by bringing them out into the open and exploring them safely together. I pay close attention to what is unfolding in each moment between us in session, and what our dynamic can teach us about your personality, emotional needs, and relational patterns.
I embrace spirituality and am very comfortable discussing dreams, religious beliefs, paranormal experiences, spiritual breakthroughs, psychedelic experiences, etc.
I celebrate diversity and enjoy working with adults of all ages, races, cultures, genders, abilities, religions, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Specialties:
I love working with adults who are going through what I call a Life Altering Experience. This basically means anyone who feels like they can’t relate to other people because of an experience they’ve had that has brought them out of step with the society they are expected to live in.
- Perhaps you’ve lost a loved one and are feeling alienated from friends and family who don’t understand your grief.
- Maybe you’ve experienced childhood or adulthood trauma so severe you cannot speak aloud about it to friends and family.
- Maybe you’re out of the military and trying to integrate into a civilian society that can’t possibly understand what you’ve been through.
- Perhaps you’ve been involved in organized crime or drug culture, and you are now deciding to “clean up your act” but are struggling to face the dull reality of working a day job.
- Maybe you’ve been released from incarceration and are trying to find a place in a world that has “moved on”.
- Maybe you had a near death experience or psychedelic experience that dramatically changed your perspective on life, and you’re not sure how to move forward.
- Perhaps you were trapped in a cult and have made the decision to leave, and are now dealing with the repercussions.
- Maybe you’ve become disabled from an injury or medical condition, and you’re trying to adjust to new limitations.
- Or maybe you’re feeling isolated due to experiencing hallucinations or paranoid thoughts that others cannot understand.
Whether you are having these experiences right now, or they happened long ago, I want to bring you hope that you can embrace what you’ve been through, accept your quirks and unique experiences, and turn them into gifts to the world. That is how you will find your place.
Additional/related specialties include:
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PTSD and Complex PTSD
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Grief and Loss
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Substance Use
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Mood and Personality Disorders
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Relationship Challenges
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Special Forces Veterans
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Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
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Psychosis
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Group Therapy
Background:
I was born and raised in Austin, and returned in 2020 after a decade in the Northeast. When I was very young, my father died suddenly, and this set the tone for my own personal growth and healing. I have a bachelor’s degree in psychology and visual arts from Bennington College, and a MSSW from UT Austin. I have extensive experience providing 24/7 care for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and I worked for two years at a residential addiction treatment center providing individual, group, and family therapy for over 1,000 adults of all ages and backgrounds.
My work truly fulfills me and gives me life. I am in therapy myself, and dedicated to ongoing personal and professional growth. I am on the board of directors at Austin Psychoanalytic, and am a member of the Austin Group Psychotherapy Society. I love hiking, climbing, road trips, reading, music, photography, meaningful conversations, and a good laugh!