Joshua D. Wyner, PhD

I work with you to find peace and meaning in your life. It might not be easy, but I believe it’s possible for everyone. As society increasingly ignores the vital role relationships and emotions play in our daily choices, I strive to help you reconnect with those feelings and use them responsibly to enhance your relationships. We will work together to understand your role in the larger tapestry of life and feel more comfortable within it.

To me, the real goal of therapy is to embrace our feelings. To understand that they exist to help us! Our goal shouldn’t be to squash them but rather use them more effectively — to become mindful of what we’re feeling and where those feelings came from. 

This is especially true for me as a neurodiversity-affirming therapist. Too often those who are different are asked to censor themselves — to mask their true thoughts and feelings in order to conform to social expectations. In my office you are free to be your authentic self, and we will explore how you can be that self elsewhere — to deepen meaningful connections with others.

Background

Unlike so many of my colleagues, I didn’t enter college expecting to become a therapist. Teachers, family, and friends expected me to become “a scientist” and I entered engineering school as expected.

The first few years were exciting as we learned about the universe and how to predict it, but I quickly found myself gravitating to more personal work — tutoring, teaching, and working as a crisis counselor for The Suicide Prevention Center.

Eventually I found myself working as an engineer with a team to restore vision to the blind by building artificial eyes, but even then the real joy was at the prospect of helping people see, not building the devices. After a few years I was finally ready to move on, and transitioned to USC’s Neuroscience and Marriage & Family programs.

I had the pleasure of completing my doctoral work under the supervision of Dr. Laura Baker at the USC Twin Project. While there I worked weekly with twins in their early teens, trying to learn more about how our environment and genetics help shape who we become. At the same time, I earned my Master’s in Marriage & Family Therapy so I could help people in a more personal setting and not simply as a byproduct of working in a lab.

After finishing school I worked for two years at The Maple Counseling Center, where I specialized in play therapy and Mindful Parenting — helping parents connect more deeply with their children. I then transitioned to a private practice, where I had the honor of working with Dr. John C. Schureman, a leader in ADHD and developmental disorders. Additionally, I worked with Victims of Crime and low-income clients at Valley Community Clinic.

From 2017-2022 I was the Department Chair of Marriage & Family Therapy  at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology , stepping down in August of 2022 to focus on my new non-profit clinic, Willow Family Health, focused on providing quality systemic, neurodiversity-affirming family therapy to those in need.