Makenzie Brookes,
LMSW
Individual Psychotherapist
Sex Therapist
Relationship Therapist
Hello. I offer a trauma-informed, culturally humble, radically inclusive, and tender space to investigate your feelings and your needs. I use a collaborative approach to identify and re-write problematic stories and harmful relational and sexual scripts rooted in oppressive social norms. When you’re ready, we can work together to co-create a set of tools that you can forever use to notice and enhance what feels good, and notice and regulate what feels overwhelming. I believe we must feel to grow. I listen closely, I observe wisely, and I respect you and your desires for your life. I am a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) in New York and a LGBTQIA+, kink, and ENM/Poly informed and affirming therapist. I offer 50-minute in-person sessions in Manhattan, as well as virtual sessions.
My Approach
I am fiercely strengths-focused and believe a therapeutic relationship built on trust and authenticity can be transformative. Collectively we can explore – and remove – the barriers preventing you from experiencing the pleasure, happiness, and healing every single person deserves. What survival strategies have you developed that have kept you safe but are getting in your way now, keeping you from feeling free or connected? How are you showing up for yourself and for others – as friend, lover, kin, co-worker, student, partner, parent? Although relationship therapy is traditionally focused on romantic and sexual relationships, a multitude of relationships make up our lives and they are all up for grabs in our work together. What patterns keep repeating themselves? What role does pleasure, and not just sexual pleasure, play in your life? What needs and wants do you hold dear yet are still not centered in your life? I offer you deep, wholehearted curiosity. What are you curious about? Let's dig in together.
Credentials
I hold an MSW from Widener University, with a clinical focus on trauma and sex therapy. My path to this work has been circuitous; after nearly 20 years of helping refugees start new lives in the United States through international and domestic work, I expanded my focus to include human sexuality and relationships and started a second career. I bring my personal and professional life experience to my therapeutic work and am indebted to the thousands of refugees who continue to welcome me into their homes and whose resilience humbles me every day. Prior to getting my New York clinical license and joining Wise Therapy, I was licensed in Massachusetts and worked as a community organizer, community mental health practitioner, and sex therapist for SHIP (Sexual Health Includes Pleasure).I am a member of the American Association of Sexuality Educators and Therapists (AASECT) and the National Association of Social Workers. Under the supervision of Carolanne Marcantonio, LCSW, SIFI, CST, I am pursuing an LCSW and completing advanced sex therapy training to become an AASECT certified sex therapist (CST).
Contact Me
I offer an initial 15--minute phone consultation free of charge. This gives you a chance to ask me more about my approach and also tell me more about why you're seeking therapy. Please reach out if you think I may be the right fit for what you need right now.
Tel: (718) 218-4799