Aaron Platt, MA (Counseling, La Salle; Sociology, UC Berkeley) is a therapist offering individual and couples therapy in English to clients worldwide. He completed his clinical internship at the Philadelphia Consultation Center and is a member of the American Counseling Association. His psychodynamic approach focuses on the patterns that keep people stuck, not the surface symptoms, but the underlying structure.

Patterns, Stuckness, and the Work of Therapy

Essays on the patterns that keep repeating, why insight alone does not change them, and what depth therapy actually does that other forms of help do not.

← All essays

Does Online Therapy Actually Work?

You're skeptical. The idea of doing therapy through a screen feels like it should be less than the real thing. I had the same skepticism. That's not what happened.

How Can I Think Positively About Something Bad?

The honest answer is that sometimes you can't. And sometimes you shouldn't. A therapist on why positive thinking backfires and what actually helps.

This Isn't the First Time You've Felt This Way

You’ve moved before. Maybe not to a different country, maybe to a different city, a different relationship. And you remember this feeling.

Why 'Be More Vulnerable' Is Bad Advice

The internet has decided that vulnerability is the answer to everything. Can't connect with your partner? Be more vulnerable. Relationships feel shallow? Ope...

Why Can't I Let Go of the Past?

You know it's over. You understand you should move on. And your brain keeps going back. A therapist explains what the past is actually asking for - and it's not what you think.

Why Do I Always Put Everyone Else First?

You open your mouth to say no and yes comes out. People-pleasing isn't a skill deficit. It's a characterological prohibition against self-assertion that was installed long before you had a choice.

Why Do I Self-Sabotage?

The particular cruelty of self-sabotage is that you can see it happening. You watch yourself procrastinate on the thing that matters most. You observe, from ...

Why You Haven't Started Therapy Yet

You’ve thought about it. Maybe for weeks. Maybe for months. You’ve Googled therapists. You’ve opened websites and closed them.

Why You Keep Repeating the Same Patterns

You've noticed the pattern. Maybe it's the same kind of argument showing up in every relationship. Maybe it's a way of responding to stress that you know doesn't serve you but that you can't seem to stop. Maybe it's a tendency to abandon things (projects, friendships, goals) right before they become real. (If you're in a PhD, you may recognize this as the way academia amplifies this pattern.)

You're Not Running Toward Something, You're Running From Something

The story you tell is about adventure. About growth. About broadening your horizons. And that story might be true. But it’s not the whole truth.

Schedule a Free Consultation

I'll respond within a few hours on weekdays. A brief 15-minute call first, just to see if this is the right fit.