Jonathan Merker began his career in counseling as a volunteer peer counselor in 2010 for LGBTQ individuals with terminal illnesses. This experience ignited and shaped his passion for helping others in his community. He graduated from The Seattle School in 2013 with a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology. Jonathan is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Washington State and New York, and a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado and New Jersey.  License numbers are listed below.

Jonathan’s counseling style is rooted in relationally analytic psychodynamic psychotherapy, which means that he uses the present moment and the relationship between counselor & client as the avenue for personal transformation. This style of counseling is indicated for issues around relationships, families, identity, sexuality, grief, trauma, and depression. Jonathan studied under a sexual abuse expert in graduate school and has been working with trauma and abuse survivors throughout his career. Jonathan discovered that there are particular considerations for gay men who experience childhood sexual abuse, as the intersection of developmental homophobia and childhood sexual activation is quite complex.

 

 In addition to private practice, Jonathan has worked as a trauma and bereavement counselor for the families of organ donors and as a supervisor at a suicide prevention hotline. Jonathan is an avid yoga and qigong practitioner and enjoys incorporating somatic work in psychotherapy. He is a dog lover and you may overhear one of his two dogs snoring during your session. Jonathan is ordained in order to officiate weddings and he delights in marrying couples that he has counseled.

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License numbers:

CO: 0015458

NJ: 37PC00707500

NY: 011143

WA: LH.60547238

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