About Ryan Forsell, LMFT
Striving To Make Sense Of Your Experience And Guide You Toward Healing
“In the end, the only genuine safety in this world comes from risking oneself completely in order to become oneself more fully.”
It almost feels like becoming a therapist chose me more than I chose it. To be frank, my life growing up was quite difficult. Complex trauma, broken family systems, and chronic chaos informed how I perceived myself and the world around me. However, these early childhood experiences taught me two things: to be human is to experience suffering and without a guide, we can get lost in that suffering.
From a very young age, I was drawn to helping those who were in need of such a guide. And although I was not yet trained in the nuances of therapy, I found great meaning in using my experiences with pain to creatively and intentionally engage others in ways that seemed to help them grow and heal. When the time was right, I began my training to become a pastor which eventually led me to becoming a therapist.
My Counseling Philosophy
In life as well as therapy, I believe that suffering exists as the catalyst for human growth and development. Embedded within the core of our pain lies a generative seed of creativity and resiliency. When cultivated with the help of caring and wise guides, this seed can transcend the limitation of our current circumstances and move us into a deeper understanding of ourselves, our communities, and our world. This deeper understanding propels us toward a more robust, unifying, and healthy version of ourselves.
Because of my own life experiences, I have come to value—and strive to embody—the deep need we have to be seen by someone who gets it. That is who I strive to be for my clients. I've been lost myself and discovered that creativity, wisdom, compassion, and action are integral to finding what was lost. Sharing this with my clients, I’ve discovered the value of authentic connection in helping people navigate through whatever is challenging them.
Specializing In Men’s Therapy & Working With Couples
I am particularly skilled at helping clients contextualize and make meaning out of the difficult experiences of their lives, especially within the context of relationships. Because of this, existential enlightenment in the face of overwhelming life transitions tends to be my sweet spot.
Working with men who suffer from anxiety, depression, and relationship issues has been both of personal and professional importance to me. It has been particularly rewarding to see the men I work with overcome their barriers and grow into a deeper sense of meaning and connection. I am keenly aware of how uneasy the traditional therapy environment can be for men. That’s why I like to offer alternatives to sitting in the office, such as taking a walk or hiking during our sessions.
Additionally, my experience working with couples and seeing two people overcome past hurt to renew intimate connection has been richly rewarding. Providing a safe space for each partner to unearth and process the emotional wounds they have brought into their current relationship is important, but I also strive to challenge couples in ways that empower them to strengthen their connection and rebuild mutual trust. I call this brave space. Much of my work with couples aims to help them understand the process of how they communicate and relate to each other in an effort to create new, meaningful ways of connecting.
Applying a process-based philosophy to therapy allows me to draw from various modalities that best serve my client without adhering to only one approach. Having trained under Terry Hargrave, the founder of Restoration Therapy, I find relational work to be the most accessible to healing. Depending on a client’s needs, we may also incorporate elements of Jungian and existential therapy or weave in Family Systems. And for couples specifically, I may draw upon Emotionally Focused Therapy as well as some elements of the Gottman Method.
A Little More About Me…
I am often described as an old soul by people who know me. Although there is truth to that, there is also a big part of me that is just a kid longing to creatively engage with the world, seek intentional relationships of depth and substance, and experience epic adventures in nature. The thing about adventure, though, is that it requires a tolerance for suffering, humility, and an openness to learning.
This is what I think is unique about me—in my pursuit of learning and growing, I have been able to endure a lot. Because of this, I have discovered subtle nuggets of wisdom regarding the human experience and recognize the ways these subtleties impact the depths of ourselves, our relationships, and our lives. I aim to bring all I have learned into every therapy session.
For my clients as well as myself, therapy allows us to slow down and ask ourselves who we are in this moment. Who are we deep down, despite how we may be feeling in any particular moment? How can we access our innate resiliency and apply it to the aspects of life where we feel insecure or uncertain?
Being outside with the people I love is high on my list of favorite things to do. Activities like hiking, camping, backpacking, rock/ice climbing, mountaineering, and skiing set my spirit free. My soul is fed by reading and discussing philosophy, mythology, and psychology, especially around a campfire. Some of my grounding hobbies include woodworking/carpentry, gardening, and tending to my chickens. But I really love being a husband, dad, and dog owner the most.
[1] https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/93194.Michael_Meade
Ryan Forsell is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) based in Los Angeles. After receiving a bachelor’s degree of Arts in Practical Theology at Azusa Pacific University, Ryan went on to receive his Master’s of Science Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from the Psychology Department of Fuller Theological Seminary. He has experience working with clients with complex relational trauma in the BIPOC communities of downtown Los Angeles and inner-city Phoenix for over ten years as well as an Adjunct Professor of couples therapy for Azusa Pacific University Graduate School of Psychology for two years. He is certified as both a Restoration Therapy Level II and Gottman Level I therapist. Ryan has been in private practice since 2017.
