Mark Muecke, LMSW

Hello and welcome! Looking for a new therapist can sometimes feel overwhelming, particularly if done at a vulnerable time. I appreciate the courage you have to take this important step to grow past whatever challenges you are facing. 

Whether you are coping with depression, anxiety, anger, shame, guilt, loneliness, loss, or aren’t completely sure yet what is bothering you, I want to help. I believe that all emotions can have their value at different times, but we need to work through areas that feel stuck and make them work for you. 

I take a collaborative view of therapy where we work together to explore and understand your thoughts and feelings about yourself and the world. My goal is to create a safe, nonjudgmental space where we can build trust and you feel supported to examine vulnerable thoughts and emotions. I want you to feel seen, heard, and comfortable discussing anything that concerns or upsets you. It sometimes takes another person to help you see strengths that you did not realize you had and find answers you already have inside of you. 

I have a holistic view that it is very important to understand the whole person. Many factors— both external and internal— influence people’s development and current challenges, so I use a variety of models to help them: 

-A psychodynamic framework to consider how unconscious processes can influence our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in ways we are not aware of.

-Attachment and developmental theories to consider how childhood experiences can affect people’s friendships and relationships as an adult.

-Motivational interviewing to help people take action on desired behaviors and avoid unwanted behaviors, particularly for those struggling to overcome addiction. 

-Cognitive behavioral theory to help people understand how their thoughts and behaviors influence their emotions. 

-Mindfulness techniques to help people become aware of and tolerate thoughts and feelings that at first make them uncomfortable. 

-Person-in-environment perspective and systems theory to consider the multiple environmental systems that affect people, particularly those experiencing oppression or abuse. This can come from a narcissistic parent, toxic relationship, dysfunctional family system or unconscious biases from society at large for things such as one’s race, gender, sexual orientation, or age. 

I want clients to feel comfortable having an open conversation about ways they have experienced unfair treatment or biases they believe they may have themselves that they want to explore. 

I have professional experience working with people with depression, anxiety, substance abuse issues, ADD/ADHD, and those coping with challenging relationships and dysfunctional families. I received my Masters in Social Work from the University of Houston. I graduated on the academic non-clinical track of the Dallas Psychoanalytic Institute, and I am finishing my third year in Studies in Child Psychoanalytic Thinking at the Center for Psychoanalytic Studies in Houston. In my free time, I enjoy playing basketball, tennis, chess, watching mysteries, and socializing with friends. I have performed Improv in the past and still enjoy watching others perform it now. 

If you are interested in discussing how you and I might work together, please feel free to reach out to me at (512) 201-4501 x 338. I look forward to getting to know you. You don’t have to do this alone!