“My name is Dr. Jakob Mauer, DSW, LCSW, and I provide professional and compassionate support with a focus on research-backed care for the LGBTQIA2S+ community and relationships. My goal is to nurture your personal growth, healing, and self-understanding.”

Services

I provide psychological and behavioral health services to teens and adults, such as individual therapy, relational counseling, and biopsychosocial-spiritual assessment (for more information on these services, click here).

Although I work with a diverse array of presenting issues, my career, education, and personal experiences led me to take an interest in the following areas:

• LGBTQIA2S+ Affirmative Care

• Identity Development and Exploration

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Stress Management

• Life Transitions and Changes

• Trauma

• Grief and Loss

• Disabilities (Learning and Physical)

• Relationship/Marital Counseling

• Supervision

Therapeutic Approach

I strive to provide a warm, safe environment for my clients to explore their unique experiences. I utilize a strengths-based perspective that highlights client ability, fosters a strong client-therapist relationship, and emphasizes client-driven care. I view my clients through an intersectional lens, taking careful consideration into how larger structural issues such as classism, racism, cisheterosexism, etc. impact their presenting concerns. My therapy style is evidenced-based and eclectic, with the core of my clinical work being guided by the belief that everyone deserves to be seen, heard, and understood. My interventions may be pulled from: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Emotion Focused Couples Therapy, Gottman Methods Couples Therapy, Interpersonal Process Therapy, LGBTQIA2S+ Affirmative Therapy, Mindfulness, Motivational Interviewing, Play Therapy, Psychodynamic Therapy, and Solution Focused Therapy. 

Education and Experience

I began providing mental and behavioral health services as an Intake Case Manager for youth group homes. I worked for AWARE, a non-profit mental and behavioral health agency in Montana. At AWARE, I witnessed how financial barriers, such as insurance approvals or denials, influenced whether families could obtain necessary medical treatment. This experience inspired my pursuit of a Master’s in Social Work (MSW) to assist individuals and families challenged with mental and behavioral health issues influenced by larger systems of privilege and oppression. I graduated from Walla Walla University (WWU) with my MSW. Enthusiastic about the idea of pursuing more education, and looking forward to advancing my clinical and teaching skills, I entered the Doctor of Social Work (DSW) program at WWU and graduated in 2022. I have over ten years of direct work experience with kids (ages 5+), adults, couples, and families in diverse cultural and socioeconomic environments. In addition to my clinical work, I teach college courses to both undergraduate and graduate students, conduct and present research at national conferences on queer mental health, and supervise future social workers.

​For more information on my research:

The Stories of Gay Men in Social Work Supervision: A Qualitative Exploration, click here.

Perspectives on Social Work, vol. 16 issue #2, click here

Perspectives on Social Work, vol. 18 issue #1, click here.

For more information about my education and me:

https://stemmedfrompod.buzzsprout.com/2161670/12566555-chels-is-wet-with-dr-uncle-irohh

https://stemmedfrompod.buzzsprout.com/2161670/12665671-bonus-episode

Personal Interests 

I am a queer outdoorsman from Montana who loves to try new foods, play board games with friends, and exercise. I grew up playing soccer and tennis, and competed as a gymnast throughout high school. During my undergraduate studies, I taught acrobatics to youth and adults at a small-town Cirque-style performance company. Hiking is another interest of mine, as well as doing a celebratory handstand when I reach the top of a mountain.