Zach Carlson

Bio

Zach (he/him) believes that people are often more complex—and more capable—than the stories they have learned to tell about themselves. His approach to counseling is grounded in curiosity, honesty, humor, and respect for the many different ways people make sense of their lives. He is particularly interested in the space between understanding ourselves and actually creating change: how insight becomes action, how identity evolves, and how people begin building lives that feel more authentic and sustainable.

Zach brings a wide range of lived and professional experience into his work. He has been in recovery from addiction for more than 12 years, an experience that has deeply shaped his understanding of change, resilience, identity, shame, and the nonlinear nature of personal growth. Rather than seeing people as problems to be fixed, he understands healing as something that happens within the larger context of relationships, choices, meaning, environment, and the lives people are trying to create.

Before becoming a counselor, Zach spent more than a decade professionally coaching individuals through periods of growth, transition, self-discovery, and change. His professional life has also included work as a writer, author, educator, and college instructor. Across these roles, a consistent thread has been his fascination with people: how they think, how they construct meaning, what makes them feel stuck, and what allows something new to become possible. His background in writing and education also influences his appreciation for storytelling and the ways the language we use to describe ourselves can both expand and limit our sense of who we are.

Zach has a longstanding interest in personality, identity, spirituality, philosophy, and systems for understanding human behavior. This curiosity has included studying approaches such as CliftonStrengths, Human Design, and astrology alongside psychology and counseling theory. He does not approach these systems as prescriptions or clinical explanations, but rather appreciates the ways people use different frameworks, traditions, and belief systems to explore identity and create meaning. He welcomes thoughtful conversations about spirituality, existential questions, unconventional interests, and the parts of a person’s inner world that may not always fit neatly into traditional categories.

As a counselor, Zach is especially drawn to working with adults navigating identity transitions, addiction and recovery, perfectionism, high achievement, shame, relationships, major life changes, and the sometimes disorienting question of what comes after years of self-work. His style is collaborative, direct, compassionate, and curious. He believes counseling can be a place to understand the past without becoming permanently organized around it—and to explore not only what has happened to you, but who you are becoming now.

Outside of counseling, Zach continues to write and explore psychology, philosophy, spirituality, creativity, and the strange and fascinating ways human beings try to understand themselves and one another.

Currently under the supervision of Heather Matson (LMFT, ATR-BC®, ATCS)