ABOUT ME
I’m Patrick. I work with couples, gay men, and people in non-traditional relationship structures... in person in the neighborhood.
My practice is part of San Francisco Counseling Collective in the Castro. I’m a white cisgender gay man, in recovery, and kink-identified. I grew up in Staten Island, went to high school in Brooklyn, studied graphic design at American University in DC, and spent fourteen years close to family in Brooklyn before moving in 2013 to San Francisco, where I now live with my partner. I graduated from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in 2024 with a master’s degree in integral counseling psychology.
I only work in person in the Castro, and that's a deliberate choice. We might run into each other at a party, at Folsom, or at the night markets where I staff our outreach booth. That’s part of living and working in this community, and it’s something we can be straightforward about. If you want to know more about what it’s like to work with me, check out the Working With Me page.
Background
Before becoming a therapist I spent over two decades in creative leadership roles across media and tech including at CNN, CBS Television, Showtime, Rachael Ray Every Day, and a decade at Facebook leading design and creative teams across global campaigns and events. I understand the pressures of high-performance corporate environments and how hard it can be to stay connected to your own values inside them.
Recovery has been a significant part of my life and I’m glad to work with people and couples on their relationships with substances. I don’t assume abstinence is the right path for everyone so I take a harm reduction approach and would follow your lead.
I did my early training at the Liberation Institute and residential counseling work at PRC/Baker Places, while also facilitating LGBTQIA+ support groups at Openhouse. After graduating from CIIS I joined the faculty as an adjunct professor, teaching a course in psychodynamics to first year therapists-in-training.
Community
I’m Outreach Chair for Gaylesta, staffing our information booth at Dore, Folsom, Castro Street Fair, Bearrison, and Oakland Pride. I joined the outreach committee because I wanted to be in the neighborhoods and meet people face to face in order to build real connections, not just a referral network.
I’m a founding member and former team captain of the AIDS/LifeCycle team the San Francisco Baes, a participant in the Castro Country Club’s upcoming Recovery Ride, and you can find me doing long distance cycling events with the Positive Pedalers througout the year. I worked closely with the founders, cast, and creative team on the brand identity and core marketing for Baloney, San Francisco’s gay all-male revue (formerly at Oasis).
I’m familiar with the terrain of ethical non-monogamy, kink, power-exchange dynamics, and leather culture. I have a particular interest in and affinity for supporting gay men who lived through the AIDS epidemic. If you carry that history, there’s room to bring it here.
Couples and relationship work
A significant part of my practice is working with couples and people in non-traditional relationship structures. I subscribe to a developmental approach with couples work, meaning I pay attention to how relationships move through stages, from early alignment into the harder territory of two people becoming more fully themselves while staying connected. Some of the work is structured: exercises, skills-building in communication and conflict. Some is slower, like tracing where each person’s patterns come from and how they interact. I also work with people navigating relationship transitions such as opening, restructuring, or ending a relationship with as much honesty and care as the situation allows.
What's it like to work with me?