I’m Karla Locher

a clinical social worker practicing

psychotherapy and sex therapy in Madison, Wisconsin.

 

My Approach

 

Underlying any approach to psychotherapy are the common factors of effective psychotherapy. Psychotherapy is effective when you have a durable and trusting relationship with a therapist, who is non-judgmental and attuned to your experience. While there are many different types of effective therapies, my approach is based on psychoanalysis and harm reduction therapy.

My focus as a psychotherapist is to first establish trust, autonomy, and dignity with my clients. A trusting and safe foundation allows for people to explore their lives – past, present, and future – and use an expanded understanding of themselves to develop compassion and effect change.

I practice psychotherapy that is primarily informed by harm reduction and psychoanalysis, however psychotherapy looks and feels a little different for everyone.

People exist within a social reality that is structured by race, gender, class, ability, sexuality, age and other categories of oppression, exploitation, and power. Psychotherapy often involves developing consciousness and re-experiencing such social dynamics in a way that can re-shape understanding and change social interaction outside of the therapy relationship. I provide queer-affirming psychotherapy and have experience serving queer and trans people as a therapist.

 

Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy (sometimes called psychodynamic psychotherapy) is an approach to therapy first described by Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis is an approach that emphasizes the importance of our unconscious lives and the potential for transformation that comes from insight and expression of the unconscious. My particular approach to psychoanalytic psychotherapy is influenced both by the work of Jacques Lacan and by feminist psychoanalysts. This means that while I work to establish a trusting and durable relationship with my clients, I also focus on the ways in which we can unknowingly hide ourselves through our language and actions. I work with clients to find ways of more fully knowing and expressing themselves and, in so doing, locate and confront the causes of recurrent suffering.

Harm Reduction

Harm reduction began as a public health approach to substance use that centers the experience of people who use substances, their dignity, and autonomy. Harm reduction approaches focus on improving the quality of life and minimizing the risk of death and harm, rather than forcing clients meet the expectations of treatment providers. Harm reduction is grounded in social justice and non-coercive principles.

Practicing harm reduction psychotherapy means that my focus is always on the autonomously developed goals of my clients.

 

Psychotherapy is about a trusting relationship

Modern psychotherapy has existed for about 140 years, and while there is high quality evidence that it is effective at improving an individual’s quality of life, the way it does so can be mysterious. There are many different theories of how psychotherapy works and how it should be practiced, which can make it all the more confusing for people seeking out a therapist. Understanding some of how psychotherapy works can help to improve the chances that therapy will meet your needs.

Psychotherapy is about developing a trusting, non-judgmental relationship that can be used to expand one’s awareness of their self and relationships and more deeply experience their life. Regardless of the specific approach to psychotherapy used by a therapist, the most important factor in effective therapy is the strength of the relationship between the therapist and the client.

Although psychotherapy is most commonly associated with the treatment of psychiatric disorders, it is not exclusively designed for that purpose and is generally used to improve quality of life rather than to remove specific symptoms. Psychotherapy works by talking – and by listening – in a different way than to which most people are accustomed. Psychotherapy is a listening cure as much as it is a talking cure, which requires both the therapist and client to be attentive to each other. In talking about and listening to one’s desires and dreams, experiences of pain and joy, and ultimately expressing one’s self in relationship to another person (the therapist), a client can begin to more fully appreciate themselves and navigate their life.

Credentials and Affiliations

License and Degree

  • Licensed Clinical Social Worker - Wisconsin #9783 - 123

  • Master of Social Work - University of Wisconsin, Madison

Professional Affiliations

  • American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work (AAPCSW)

  • World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH)

Fees

My standard fee for a 1 hour appointment is $160, however I am committed to proving accessible psychotherapy services and encourage you to contact me if you require psychotherapy for a lower rate than this.

I do not accept health insurance plans as payment for services. Health insurance companies are primarily focused on increasing shareholder profits, which comes at the expense of our work together. Insurance plans require justification of medical necessity and limitations on the scope of psychotherapy that can inhibit the efficacy of the relationship.

I accept payment by cash, check, or IvyPay