About Matthew Willner

Matthew Willner is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and IFS Certified Therapist practicing virtually in New York, Colorado, and New Jersey. He specializes in men's mental health, relationship therapy, and affirming care for LGBTQ+ communities.

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His approach is direct and engaged. Sessions are collaborative but not passive — Matthew asks hard questions, takes seriously the ways clients have learned to protect themselves, and works with those protections rather than against them. He has particular experience with men who are ambivalent about therapy itself, and with those struggling with avoidance, shame, and self-criticism.

 

As a cisgender man, Matthew brings his own experience to the work of unpacking what it means to be a man — the performance, the protection, the things that go unsaid. He creates a space that is genuinely safe for exploring identity, privilege, harm, and the parts of ourselves we've learned to keep hidden. He works with gay, bisexual, queer, and questioning men, men in non-monogamous and polyamorous relationships, and men navigating kink identities.

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Before becoming a therapist, Matthew spent over a decade working across business, government, and nonprofits, domestically and internationally. That background informs how he works — he understands the professional pressures, leadership demands, and identity performances that many of his clients navigate daily, without needing them explained.