About me

Hi, my name is Menzo Faassen. I received my B.S. in Psychology in 1999 from Middle Tennessee State University and I received my M.S. in Community Counseling from Austin Peay State University in 2009. I got my initial hours for my licensure in a community mental health center. My experience there gave me skills and abilities to work with a wide variety of people and issues. I go my first counseling license in Tennessee in 2015. I was licensed previously in New Mexico and Kentucky. Currently, Virginia is the only state where I am actively licensed. Due to telehealth laws, if you are not physically in the state of Virginia during a session, we will have to reschedule.

I work full time in Richmond, Virginia (moved here in January of 2022). I work in an outpatient clinic in the Richmond, VA area. I have worked in a variety of therapy settings including outpatient, Intensive Outpatient, Residential Substance Abuse, and Partial Hospitalization. I have worked with clients with a variety of issues but my areas that I am most adept at are trauma, addiction, depression, grief/loss and LGBT issues. I am also a proud member of the LGBT community.

My approach to therapy starts out with the basic Rogerian (person centered approach). But, I also incorporate Psychodramatic techniques into my therapy (I can only do this in video sessions). Psychodrama was created by J. L. Moreno and seeks to use a persons creativity and spontaneity in the healing process. Some techniques from this method include doubling (helping you speak your unspoken truth), role techniques (role play, role taking, and role reversal) and empty chair. I'm also fluent in cognitive behavioral therapy and utilize the unconditional positive regard of Carl Rogers. I start where you are. I believe that you are the expert on you and that this is your therapy not mine. The methods and techniques I use will be guided by what you want out of therapy as a whole and what you want out of each session.

A few things to be aware of:
1. While you can send messages to me 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, you will not get an immediate response. BetterHelp is not a crisis line or appropriate for crisis situations or situations where you need an immediate answer. My work for BetterHelp is a part time, weekend structure. So, if you send me a message during the week you may not get an answer until the evening (between 7 PM and 10 PM Eastern Time in the US) or on Saturday or Sunday. If you need someone with more availability, you should chose a different therapist as I will not be able to meet your needs.

2. Prior to beginning therapy I request that you send me your home address and phone number. If you prefer you can send a copy of a photo ID. I request this information for a few reasons. The first is so that if there is an emergency (you present with a plan to hurt yourself or somebody else, or I suspect there is child abuse involved) I can alert the authorities in your location. It is also my ethical duty to assure that I am licensed to provide services in the state you reside.

3. Sending messages back and forth is fine, but you will get more value out of BetterHelp if you schedule a live chat, phone or video session with me. You can do that by selecting the schedule session on the right hand side of the screen.

4. As I said in section 1, the techniques and methods I use will be informed by the goal you have. I will start each session with the question "What do you want to get out of our time today?" Based on that information, I will gear my methods to accomplishing that goal for that session. As I said earlier, I do use Psychodrama techniques. I may have you using a chair or an object to "stand in" for a person or part of you. I may have you take the role or and speak from the role of that person or part. This may involve moving. So, when you meet with me, it is important that you have an idea of what you want to work on, be in a quiet private place and in a space that allows for some degree of movement. I realize that the first few sessions will be getting to know each other and me getting some background information. We will not be working on traumatic issues or a lot of deep work in the first session.

5. The more information I have about you, your teen/child, and your family the better. To help with that, the first session I will want to meet with you and your teen/child. As the start of future sessions or before future sessions, it would be helpful if you could provide any updates on your child/teens progress as possible. It would also be helpful if both you and your teen/child provided an autobiography of how you got to this point (birth history, complications, family relationships, school, friends, work - if applicable, and trauma/loss).

I have been in counseling myself and know how scary it can be to enter into the process and I try to make this as comfortable as possible. I look forward to walking with you as you begin this journey of healing and transformation.

Specialties

  • Addictions
  • LGBTQ+
  • Trauma, Abuse
  • Grief
  • Depression
Also experienced in:
Stress, Anxiety , Family conflicts , Sleeping disorders , Parenting issues , Anger management , Self esteem , Career difficulties , Bipolar disorder , Coping with life changes , Abandonment , Adoption and foster care , Read more...

Clinical approaches:
Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Motivational Interviewing, Solution-Focused Therapy, Trauma-Focused Therapy

Years of Experience: 24

Services offered


  • Messaging

  • Live Chat

  • Phone

  • Video

Licensing

VA LPC 0701010945

Reviews

These quotes represent just a few of the many positive reviews that we have received for Menzo Faassen. We don't pay anyone to provide their review and they are all made voluntarily. Some people's experience receiving therapy with Teen Counseling might be different.

Written on May 09, 2024 after therapy with Menzo for 2 weeks on issues concerning lgbt

He listens to what you have to say but also offers you advice and tools to help you.

Written on Sep 25, 2022 after therapy with Menzo for 1 month on issues concerning stress, anxiety, relationship issues, intimacy-related issues, and self esteem

Menzo has been absolutely vital in helping me discover aspects of myself that I've been trying to figure out for years. Extremely patient, friendly, and has a depth of knowledge that is very helpful. I wholeheartedly recommend seeing Menzo as your therapist!

Written on Jul 31, 2022 after therapy with Menzo for 3 weeks on issues concerning addictions, and family conflicts

Menzo Fassen has been very valuable to me in my recovery process. It has been great having a professional to speak to that can relate to most of the traumas I have dealt with in the past. I would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone I knew that was dealing with the same issues as I have in the past.

Written on Jun 12, 2022 after therapy with Menzo for 3 months on issues concerning relationship issues, trauma and abuse, self esteem, and coping with life changes

Menzo is amazing, 100/10! Helped me with so much in so little time :)

Written on Oct 06, 2021 after therapy with Menzo for 1 year and 5 months

Our son, who resisted counseling in the beginning, values his time with Menzo tremendously. We've seen such an improvement in his mood and coping skills. I am so thankful we found this option for our son.

Written on Nov 09, 2020 after therapy with Menzo for 2 months on issues concerning addictions, anger management, and adhd

Menzo is a kind, thoughtful man. He is a surprising (refreshing) mix of good listener and direct with questions. I've appreciated his insight into my mind, and no punches pulled when he sees an area of unhealthiness or weakness I don't. I sincerely recommend him to bring your life and mind wisdom, balance, and health.

Written on Jul 07, 2020 after therapy with Menzo for 4 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, self esteem, career difficulties, coping with life changes, and coaching

Menzo is my favorite therapist I’ve had to date. He’s always energetic, engaging, and really gets to the bottom of the issues I’m facing. Those around me have noticed huge improvement in me, and a large part of that all is thanks to this wonderful man. Can’t recommend him enough, especially if you’re LGBTQ+

Written on May 16, 2020 after therapy with Menzo for 3 days on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, sleeping disorders, self esteem, and adhd

It was a short period but he was great! Very helpful, gave me some good little morsels of information that I will definitely use in my day to day. I'm grateful to him.

Written on Mar 30, 2019 after therapy with Menzo for 2 weeks on issues concerning stress, anxiety, addictions, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, parenting issues, self esteem, anger management, career difficulties, and compassion fatigue

Menzo Faassen shattered my perception about how a therapist can help. He was courteous, thoughtful, and offered amazing insight. He gave objectivity to a very difficult struggle! I can’t thank him enough.

Written on Jul 06, 2018 after therapy with Menzo for 2 weeks on issues concerning stress, anxiety, relationship, trauma and abuse, and intimacy-related

Menzo has been working with me for only a few weeks and already he’s been able to point out some key things for me to work on. Things that haven’t been pointed out with counselors that I have worked with for many years.

I feel comfortable talking with him. He’s timely and thoughtful with his responses and if he hasn’t heard from me in a few days he always reaches out just to let me know hes there if I need him. It’s been amazing to be able to communicate at my own pace. Seeing an in-person counselor it can be hard to 1- remember everything that’s happened week to week, and 2- try to fit in all my trauma that I’m working through in one hour. With this method, and with Menzo as my counselor, it doesn’t feel as daunting.

Work with me!