How We Begin

Step 1: Reach Out

You can contact me by phone, text, or the secure form below. I’ll respond personally to schedule an initial session or brief consultation, depending on your needs.

Call or Text to Get Started
310-339-5778

If you’re unsure where to begin, that’s okay.
A brief message is enough to start the conversation.

Step 2: First Session

Our first full session is a focused, collaborative conversation. We’ll look at:

• what’s bringing you in now

• what you’ve already tried

• where you feel stuck despite insight or effort

• and what kind of change would actually make a difference in your life

You don’t need to prepare anything in advance. Just come as you are.

Step 3: Ongoing Work (If It’s a Fit)

Most clients meet weekly, at a consistent day and time, to maintain momentum and depth. If finances require it, we can discuss alternate scheduling — though meaningful change tends to happen faster with regular work.

I’ll be clear, engaged, and honest with you — and I expect the same in return.

How I Work

All sessions are conducted via secure Telehealth on Zoom for Healthcare. Sessions are 50–60 minutes.

Telehealth allows you to work with a senior specialist regardless of where you live in California — without commuting, parking, or disrupting your workday.

About Me

I’m Ken Howard, LCSW, CST, a licensed psychotherapist and AASECT Certified Sex Therapist with over 30 years of experience specializing in gay men, gay male couples, and LGBT-affirmative therapy.

Many of the men I work with are:

• successful but dissatisfied

• aging into new life phases

• dealing with intimacy, sex, or relationship concerns

• navigating anxiety, shame, or identity questions

• or frustrated that therapy hasn’t gone deep enough before

My work is grounded, direct, and respectful of your intelligence and life experience.

Who This Work Is For

Many of the men who contact me are dealing with more than one issue at a time. They may be high-functioning on the outside, but internally feel anxious, stuck, depleted, or quietly overwhelmed.

My background as a psychiatric social worker means I work comfortably with both emotional depth and clinical complexity.

This often includes gay men navigating:

• chronic or situational depression

• anxiety, including panic, rumination, and constant overthinking

• OCD or obsessive thought patterns that interfere with daily life

• ADD / ADHD, especially when it impacts focus, productivity, or self-esteem

• trauma and long-term stress responses

• substance-use recovery, including relapse prevention and rebuilding stability

• identity-based shame or internalized stigma

• relationship and intimacy difficulties that don’t resolve with insight alone

Many clients have tried therapy before and are frustrated that they understand why they feel the way they do, but still can’t shift it. Others are returning to therapy during a life transition — aging, career change, relationship change, or burnout — when old coping strategies stop working.

If you’re looking for thoughtful, experienced help that can hold both psychological depth and practical change, this work may be a good fit.

Practical & Legal Notes

• I am licensed in California (LCSW #LCS18290).

• Coaching services are available separately and governed by different legal and ethical frameworks, which I explain clearly before we begin.

• Your privacy is fully protected under HIPAA and California law.

• Fees & Insurance

  I am a private-pay practitioner and do not bill insurance directly.

  If you have out-of-network PPO benefits, I’m happy to provide a monthly superbill that you may submit to your insurance company for possible reimbursement, according to your plan.

  If you have questions about fees or reimbursement, we can discuss them briefly when we speak.

After we schedule, I’ll send you a secure link to my confidential online intake system.

A Quiet but Important Difference

You don’t need to convince me that your concerns are serious enough.
You don’t need the “right words.”
And you don’t need to perform insight.

You just need to be willing to begin.