We recently connected with Matt Dunatchik and have shared our conversation below.

Matt, appreciate you joining us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

A defining moment in my professional career was when my mentor, boss, and clinical supervisor passed away suddenly from pancreatic cancer. I was only a few years into my career as a psychotherapist and felt grateful to be working under a brilliant minded mentor. He was one of those professionals in the field that was a “master” at the craft of psychotherapy, and I was deeply grateful to study, learn, and grow in his presence. Just over 3 years into my career journey he suddenly passed away and I was left feeling lost and confused over where my path as a psychotherapist would go next. I was doing direct clinical work in his group private practice, and I was faced with a feeling of falling and a realization that I had to forge my path without my cherished mentor. I learned to lean heavily on my network and colleagues and with their support, I transitioned into my own private practice, which has flourished and grown. Doing so, I experienced the humility that comes with asking for help. It wasn’t without its hardships and fears, but these obstacles taught me many important lessons. I learned to rely on my instincts and intuition more clearly and trust myself in ways I couldn’t before. I was forced to face myself and my work as a psychotherapist with honesty and integrity that shaped my clinical skills as well as my sense of Self. I think fondly of my old mentor and his teachings are present in my clinical work all these years later.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I don’t like talking about myself, which is probably one of the reasons I became a psychotherapist. My favorite pastime is helping people by entering into their inner worlds and reflecting back ways they can live more contently. To me, it’s an artform and I am led by my clients. I have a deep empathy for people, and I have honed this superpower to help people find deeper meaning and potential in their lives. As cliched as it sounds, this is my calling. I focus on work that is transformative for my clients, I use my innate skills in listening, curiosity, and empathy to embolden them to explore beliefs no longer useful and connect to themselves in new ways. I pull from experiential, existential, and Gestalt theories to guide my work. As most of my fellow therapists, I got into this field because I wanted to help people which started well before I could understand what it meant. I was always the peacemaker in my family, and I felt deeply for those around me who were struggling. I challenged myself to look deeper within and more widely outside. I learn from my clients but also know I can’t ask my clients to go places I haven’t visited myself. I desire to constantly learn about myself and bring that to my clients. I believe we are all connected in our humanness, and I work to tap into that in myself and my clients. My clients have shared how profound our relationship feels as I help them stretch into new spaces in ways they haven’t experienced before. I don’t like doing surface level therapy and if you work with me, you will explore deeper parts of yourself, your life, your Self and Spirit. I believe these experiences offer lifelong change to my clients.

I have been told I bring a unique balance of warmth, care, compassion, and energy to people. I am disarming through the safety I offer in my presence even though I am a 6’4 tall man! I am proud of my own personal growth and how that has shaped my work as a therapist and I want my clients to know that, with me, they will be taken care of and have a deep support walking alongside them on their life journey.

Another arena I experience these skills is being a CrossFit trainer and coach at my local gym, CrossFit Expedition in Columbus, Ohio. Coaching is another passion of mine and doing it through physical fitness is a beautiful compliment to my clinical therapy skills. I approach my coaching with humor and love which helps my clients relax a bit and not put unneeded pressure on themselves. This allows me to push them in ways they can handle, even if they don’t initially believe it! A healthy body, mind, and spirit are paramount in my approach to life.

Any advice for managing a team?

I manage a team of 6 clinicians with the co-owner of our practice, Gestalt Columbus. The mission for our practice is one in which our team can feel supported, connected, and challenged to learn and grow. We work to inspire our team as we’d inspire our clients; helping them feel autonomous, but also part of a team that is larger than themselves. Gestalt is a form of therapy we use, and it loosely translates to “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” and we live that philosophy with our team. We honor that our team is something to respect, appreciate, and take accountability for which helps each member feel connected to something larger than themselves. The field of psychotherapy can be very lonely for clinicians. We provide a space in which our team feels connected and not isolated. I believe this mission is key to helping each member thrive in their work with clients and feel safe enough to come to us with anything they are feeling or needing and know that it will be respected and heard.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I believe the most effective strategy for growing my clientele is focusing on my innate skills and the relationships I build with my clients. I bring my whole self to my practice and to the work with each client and I believe in doing so, my clients feel well taken care of and experience new evolution. My biggest marketing tool is myself and the work I do. This has given me the ability to be referred to by current and former clients and a reputation in the community as a sought after clinician.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://gestaltcolumbus.com
• Instagram: @gestaltcbus
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GestaltCbus
• Other: https://crossfitexpedition.com/

Image Credits

Photo credit to David Thompson at PixelWebb