A Different Path
Therapy that doesn’t feel like therapy
I'm Parke
I’m a therapist in Richmond, VA who works mainly with stressed and anxious men. My clients are just everyday guys- college students, twenty-somethings figuring it out as they go, small business owners, professionals under crazy amounts of pressure and the dad down the street just trying to navigate this whole mess.
I took a bit of a unique route to becoming a therapist. In high school and college, I partied way too hard. After graduation, I landed in the corporate world working in sales. I quickly realized I did not enjoy selling people things they did not need. Around that time, I started facing my own struggles with social anxiety, work stress, and a constant sense of being overwhelmed. Looking for relief, I turned to philosophy, meditation, psychology, exercise, and breathing practices.
Why I Work with Men in Richmond
I’m oddly grateful for those challenges of that former life. It has allowed me to bring a unique perspective to working with men dealing with anxiety, stress, burnout, or dissatisfaction because I have been there myself. I am still there sometimes! But over time, I have built a personal playbook for navigating these struggles, and that is exactly what I help clients do in therapy.
Therapy for Men RVA is a different kind of therapy. It’s not stuffy or filled with unhelpful clinical jargon. It’s real. And it works.
Outside the therapy room, I am into a lot of things: history, time outdoors, the Baltimore Orioles and Eastern philosophy. I am also a music fan and particularly dig John Prine, Van Morrison, and the Grateful Dead. My favorite book is An Island to Oneself and my favorite movie is Castaway. My wife points out that both are about being alone on an island and she is not wrong.
Despite that, I’m happily married with two kids, a boxer named Poppy, and a morbidly obese (diet starts tomorrow) cat named Wilson. And if you’re wondering—I’m a child of the late ’80s and ’90s, currently 42 years old.
I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor
I graduated from Randolph-Macon College with a degree in Sociology and earned my Master’s Degree in Mental Health and Rehabilitation Counseling from VCU here in Richmond. I’m always reading, learning, and deepening my understanding of this work because I genuinely love what I do.
Clients often describe my approach as laid-back, authentic, and invested. When I work with someone, it feels like we’re in it together. That energy excites me, and it’s what I show up for every day.
My Therapy Approach for Anxiety, Stress and More
One thing I’ve learned: if you struggle with anxiety, it’s usually chronic. You can’t breathe it away, healthy eat it away, or exercise it away. Trust me, I tried all of that and more.
Those things help for sure, but they’re not the full answer. What’s needed is a shift, a new way of relating to your pain instead of avoiding it or letting it run your life.
At Therapy for Men RVA, we use a blend of lifestyle changes and an approach called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT helps men learn how to accept what can’t be changed, take action on what can, and build the wisdom to know the difference.
ACT isn’t just talk therapy. It’s “do” therapy. As the saying goes – in order to change your life, you have to change your life. I can’t make those changes for you, but I will be your cornerman. In sessions, we will help you build, test, and refine a personal game plan that works for you. Then you go out into life and execute it.
I’ve worked with people of all ages and backgrounds, facing a wide range of challenges from everything from general anxiety to psychosis to heroin addiction. These days, I mostly work with men – from college kids to guys in their 50s and 60s – who are dealing with stress, anxiety, lack of purpose, loneliness, or just feeling stuck. Because those are my people.