Brian Apland

He/Him/His

Welcoming new clients.

Choosing to start therapy with Brian means setting off on a transformative journey through the mind. Brian employs an approach informed by Lacanian Psychoanalysis, focusing on the unconscious mind with an emphasis on its manifestations in language as well as thoughts, emotions, dreams, fantasies, and symptoms. He also employs a variety of other techniques as needed, including CBT, DBT, Narrative Therapy, Mindfulness, and Motivational Interviewing.

In the course of our lives, we are often faced with troublesome patterns that seem to follow us around and get in the way of our peace, joy, freedom, and loving relationships. There are plenty of skills and behaviors that can be learned to address these patterns. However, therapy also has the potential to delve deeper and to shake the foundations of the psychological structures that underpin these problems. This process can lead to profound change. But for it to be possible, the relationship with your therapist must be a very special one of witnessing, safety, and compassion, as well as creativity and innovation. Parts of yourself that are hidden and unacknowledged are welcomed into the therapy room without judgment. It is only from a space of total acceptance that change can arise.

Brian has over a decade of experience working in California and Minnesota with adolescents and adults from a diverse array of backgrounds along the lines of race, class, gender, sexuality, and culture, including many who are faced with structural disadvantages. With them, he has confronted a variety of problems, both psychological and social. But every individual is unique, and everyone faces challenges in their own way. Brian’s approach is characterized by humility. You are always the most qualified expert on your own experience, and at best, your therapist is a helpful traveling companion along the path of life.

Outside of the therapy room, Brian is passionately engaged in struggles for social justice. He loves literature, art, theater, music, meditation, and physical fitness. He sees all these practices as inextricably linked with his work in psychotherapy. He lives in Minneapolis with his two cats, Pointer and Raksha.