Mental health therapy, EMDR, IFS, and Ketamine in Fairfax VA

depression - anxiety - trauma - emotional pain

Mental health therapy that is grounded in a sensible, humble, and down-to-earth approach. You could even call it pragmatic.

Maybe you have parts of yourself that think you are disappointment, not good enough, permanently damaged, or unlovable. You might have parts of you that are self-destructive, self-harm, sabotage relationships, fear failure, or are critical and judgmental. At The Pragmatic Therapist(s) you are in good hands. We have helped hundreds of people heal from their burdens and find self compassion, clarity, and inner harmony. It's time for you to tame anxiety, boot depression, overcome trauma, and unburden from emotional pain.

EMDR and IFS can help you overcome trauma, unburden from emotional pain, tame anxiety, and boot depression. Are you ready to heal?

Our specialties

We are licensed mental health therapists, but consider ourselves healers.

Our goal is to address the root cause that brought you to therapy.

Individual Therapy

Heal from anxiety, depression, trauma, and emotional pain. Perfect for adults, adolescents, and teenagers.

EMDR

Originally designed to help people heal from distressing or disturbing life experiences, EMDR has evolved as a great therapy to tackle anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and just about any other stressor you can think of. Effective, safe, and proven.

IFS

IFS, or Internal Family Systems explores our internal parts and considers our inner workings a large family. IFS helps our parts heal from their past, emotional injuries. By healing parts, you can address the root causes of many mental health issues and interact with your inner and outer world in new, healthy ways. Unpack and heal from your childhood.

Play Therapy

Children learn and heal in the form of play. We offer healing to children who often signal they need help through behavior. Whether that is anxious behavior, defiant behavior, or avoidant behavior, your child's behavior tells a story about their mental health. Play therapy can help your child process issues and help you connect with your child on a new level.

Couples Counseling

Transform your relationship with our Gottman Method Couples Counseling. Commit today for lasting love and improved communication.

Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy

Ketamine can help you open your heart and mind to new ways of thinking about yourself and build self-compassion. By helping your brain enter a state of neuroplasticity, ketamine helps rewire neural pathways and surmount psychological blocks that may have previously seemed insurmountable.

Ready to heal from your emotional burdens? Lets talk!

Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy, or KAP, combines the healing properties of ketamine with those of mental health therapy. Like most psychedelics, ketamine opens the heart and mind, fostering an environment conducive to inward peace, calmness, love, and self-acceptance. This opening, combined with mental health therapy, facilitates navigation, access, and healing of areas within yourself that might be difficult or time-consuming to reach through mental health therapy alone.

Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy in Fairfax VA

Recorded demonstrations

Michael and Dakota demonstrate EMDR.

Whitney and Michael demonstrate EMDR.

Michael and Mia demonstrate IFS.

Michael and Whitney demonstrate IFS.

EMDR intensives pack all the great benefits of EMDR into a 3-4 hour therapy session conducted over a single day. Intensives are for anyone looking to do a significant amount of healing in a short period of time. What traditional, weekly EMDR sessions can do in a month an intensive can do in one day. The goal is to get as much healing done at once while also spacing the sessions out to allow for natural processing and recovery.

Professional Reviews

Johnson Wilder
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I can honestly say that Alexandra Kierstead is truly the most empathetic and compassionate person I've ever met. She has helped me immensely through some very stressful life changes!
Julie Rodgers
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I have had the opportunity to grow and learn from Michael as a therapist, he is TOP notch in the therapy field. He is extremely genuine with a laid-back approach which makes him easy to relate to. He is extremely knowledgeable with a humble presentation, his true passion is helping his clients. 5 -star therapist, hands-down.
Kendall McCarthy
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I refer to Michael with full confidence. He has an amazing ability to connect with clients and his clinical skill in EMDR work with challenging clients is superb.
Sarah Hagen
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Michael is kind, funny, and most importantly, so relatable. It is abundantly clear that he cares about his clients and is truly invested in helping them achieve their goals. I love his no nonsense straightforward approach, while still being able to laugh. Highly recommend!!
Dana Thompson
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Alexandra is a very kind, caring, and empathetic Therapist. She uses EMDR techniques to support clients who are dealing with trauma from their past. Alexandra is very patient, giving clients the time and space they need to explore ways they can make changes in their lives. Alexandra is a great Therapist and I would definitely recommend her to family and friends!
Daniela Perone
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I am so appreciative of Michael's insight, helpfulness, and candor. He is extraordinary knowledgeable and relatable. I'm so grateful to have had the pleasure to work with him and benefit from his very practical perspective.
Johnna Holding
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A regular, relatable guy with a passion (and credentials) for helping people work through tough stuff. His sense of humor helps take the weight off of some of the heavier stuff, but he doesn’t shy away from helping you dig deep and get to where it counts. He’s constantly learning and improving so that he can help you in the best way he can.
Nick Kruskamp
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Mike is an extremely caring and thoughtful therapist. He works well with patients to make sure you are getting the right care and the best approach to address your needs.
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Prefer a free 20-minute consultation? No problem.

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Contact

FAQ

Most frequent questions and answers

We am located in downtown Fairfax, VA at 3921 Old Lee Highway Suite 73c Fairfax VA 22030

As of 7/2/2020 we are conducting both in-office sessions at my Fairfax office or virtually throughout Virginia.

We do not participate as an in-network provider. But, that does not mean you are not covered by health insurance. Many providers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield (Anthem and CareFirst), Aetna, United Health Care, or TriCare have out-of-network benefits. If you call the member’s services number on the back of your insurance card and inquire about your out-of-network benefits they will let you know what portion of the cost they will reimburse you for. 

55 minute individual sessions: $200

Our rate is set that each therapist can earn a livable earning while also not overburdening themselves by taking an excessive amount of clients. This means your therapist is available, emotionally present, and not overbooked. We provided a personalized experience with your therapist who has time for training, self development, their own therapy, and ultimately, time and space for you.

We usually recommend people email the owner (Michael@ThePragmaticTherapist.com) and ask for a 20 minute phone consultation. You want to make sure we are a good fit for you. If you feel you are ready to hit the ground running and want to start  right away, give me a call or email me and ask to become a client. Its that simple!

The word pragmatic means a sensible and realistic way of thinking and problem solving. We believe that reflects how we tend to think about things and frame mental health counseling. An open, warm, and friendly way to sort out mental health. Hence, The Pragmatic Therapist.

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