David J Schlosz, PhD, LPC-S, Ph,D., LPC-S

As a child, I carried both longing and pain. I longed to belong, to feel safe, and to be fully accepted for who I was. At the same time, I endured experiences—sexual abuse, conversion therapy, and religious trauma—that taught me to hide, to perform, and to please others in order to survive. What I desired most—love and connection—often felt out of reach.

Achievement became my armor. Success, recognition, and productivity helped me mask the shame and doubt that lingered beneath the surface. Yet even in the midst of accomplishment, I often felt like an outsider, searching for a deeper sense of meaning and home within myself.

It wasn’t until mentors, teachers, and my own therapists modeled authentic presence that I began to reconnect with my voice, my worth, and my inner strength. Their compassion and courage showed me what it means to be attuned, grounded, and fully human in relationship. Slowly, I started to trust that healing was possible—not by denying the past, but by facing it with honesty and care.

My professional path has woven together many threads—counseling, teaching, mentoring, writing, and research. Through each role, I’ve come back again and again to the same truth: healing happens in relationship. Whether in a classroom, a therapy session, or a conversation, it is authentic connection that transforms pain into resilience and isolation into belonging.

Today, my work is deeply shaped by my ongoing commitment to my own healing. I draw on approaches like Interpersonal Neurobiology, somatic practices, and attachment-based therapies, but just as importantly, I bring the lived experience of moving through shame, survival strategies, and complex relational wounds. My story reminds me daily that we do not heal alone—we heal in safe, supportive connection with others.

My journey has taught me that healing is less about fixing what is broken and more about remembering what has always been whole. It is about reclaiming our aliveness, our freedom, and our capacity for love. This is the heart of my work: to walk alongside others as they rediscover their own strength, dignity, and authentic self.