Dr. Dylan Richard, PhD
(they/pup)
Dr. Richard (pronounces REE-shard) is a queer, kinky, nonbinary, polyamorous, neurodivergent licensed psychologist in the state of Arizona (hoping to extend services outside of Arizona soon, so stay tuned). They obtained their Bachelor of Science in Psychology Degree in 2015 University of Louisiana at Lafayette, their Master of Arts in Psychology Degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2018, and their Doctor of Philosophy in Counseling Psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2021.
Dr. Richard moved to Arizona with their husband during the peak of the COVID 19 pandemic to complete their predoctoral internship at the Phoenix VA Medical Center, specializing in Trauma and General Mental Health. At the same time, Dr. Richard also began their own leather, kink, and gender journey, which led to them finding a leather family here in Arizona. After they completed their PhD, Dr. Richard stayed at the Phoenix VA, where they worked in the PTSD Clinic and helped to run the Phoenix VA’s Military Sexual Trauma Clinic. However, after seeing the lack of competent mental health providers for queer, trans, poly, kinky, and neurodivergent folks, Dr. Richard decided to shift their clinical work to bring competent services to the community by joining Wombat MHS.
Dr. Richard is a punk at heart, which means they have a passion for challenging the status quo and speaking out against systems of power used to oppress minority groups. This sometimes includes challenging the traditional ideas we have about therapy and the therapeutic process. Dr. Richard has extensive training in many evidenced-based practices used to treat a number of diagnoses and concerns, which are generally regarded as the gold standard of treatment. However, these therapies are often manualized (think of this as a session-by-session guide) and can sometimes feel impersonal to clients. Dr. Richard enjoys taking what they know about these practices, discussing their client’s goals, and then creating a tailored treatment approach that is both evidenced-based and sensitive to who the client is. Dr. Richard’s general values as a psychologist include authenticity, warmth, integrity, and humor.
In their personal time, Dr. Richard loves going on hikes and camping, tending to their many plant children, spending time with their polycule (including two elder dogs), attending leather and kink events (local and national), moshing around with some fellow pups, or playing/watching anything related to The Legend of Zelda franchise.
Specialty Areas:
- Trauma and PTSD (experience with combat, sexual, and complex trauma)
- Personality Disorders (such as Borderline Personality Disorder and Narcissistic Personality Disorder
- Sexuality and Sexual Concerns (including exploring sexuality, paraphilias, compulsive sexual behaviors, and sexual dysfunction)
- LGBTQIA2S+ Issues
- ADHD
- Alt-Sex and “Alternative” Relationships (such as kink/BDSM relationships, polyamory, non-monogamy, sex work, etc.)
- Psychodiagnostic Assessment and Testing
Theoretical Approach
Dr. Richard mostly works from an eclectic and humanistic approach, which emphasizes the therapeutic relationship and “using the right tool for the job” in regards to specific therapy tools. Dr. Richard has traditional/specific training and is comfortable using the following approaches/tools:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD (CPT)
- Prolonged Exposure for PTSD (PE)
- Exposure and Written Exposure Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Sex Therapy (CBST)
- Person-centered and Humanistic therapy approaches
- Motivational Interviewing (MI)
- Solution-focused therapy
- Strength at Home (SAH)
- Feminist Therapy
- Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling
