Joseph LaFleur, LICSW, MBA, SEP, C-PATP

Education

Master of Social Work (MSW)
Tulane University — New Orleans, Louisiana

Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Trinity University — San Antonio, Texas

Bachelor of Science in Psychology
Louisiana State University — Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Licenses

• Washington, DC — LICSW #LC3000819
• Maryland — LICSW #27085
• Virginia — LICSW #0904013135
• New Jersey — LCSW #44SC06054400
• New York — LCSW #092948

Somatic Experiencing®

Certified Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEP)

Somatic Experiencing International

I completed the full SE® Professional Training program. This program requires 216 contact hours across 8 modules. It also requires 12 hours of personal sessions and 18 hours of case consultations.

I chose to go far beyond these basic minimum requirements. I finished more than 26 hours of personal sessions during my three years of training. I did not do this just to check a box. I did it because this deep body-based work was changing my life in ways talk therapy never could.

Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy

Certified Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Provider (C-PATP)

Comprehensive certification in psychedelic-assisted therapy protocols.

Certificate in Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy

Integrative Psychiatry Institute (IPI)
IPI Psychedelic Assisted Therapy Training — Issued February 23, 2024. Facilitator training certified by Will Van Derveer, MD (Lead Educator & Co-Founder), Keith Kurlander, MA LPC (Co-Founder), and Jaime Davila (Course Director).

Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Training

72+ hours — 73 total modules. Training covers ketamine-assisted therapy (KAP), psilocybin, and MDMA protocols. It also includes LGBTQ+ clinical considerations and culturally informed trauma care.

Leadership and Shame Resilience Training

The Daring Way™ Trained Facilitator

Brené Brown Education and Research Group

I am one of fewer than 700 facilitators worldwide trained in The Daring Way™ method. This shows completion of both the original Certified Daring Way™ Facilitator and the Certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitator tracks.

When the certification model changed, I chose to focus my energy on my direct clinical certifications. However, The Daring Way™ method still shapes my daily clinical work. It is a core part of how I help clients handle shame, perfectionism, and self-compassion.

Learn more about The Daring Way™

Additional Specialized Training

Telehealth

Certificate in TeleMental Health and Digital Ethics — Advanced training in secure, effective virtual therapy across multiple states.

LGBTQ+ Affirming Care

Specialized clinical training in transgender, genderqueer, two-spirit, and intersex care. I also hold advanced training in kink, nonmonogamy, and BDSM clinical awareness. My focus is on built-in LGBTIQA+ allyship and minority stress resilience.

Clinical Supervision and Ethics

My training in clinical supervision and ethics far exceeds standard requirements. In fact, it is up to four times the standard amount required for licensure. Eight separate supervisees have successfully achieved independent licensure under my guidance within the last three years.

My Healing Journey

I did not pursue Somatic Experiencing® training just to add letters after my name. I pursued it because I was personally struggling. Traditional talk therapy helped me understand my past, but it was not reaching the deeper spaces inside me.

During my three years of SE training, the program required 12 hours of personal sessions. I stopped counting at 26 sessions. I did not do this to look good. I did it because something was finally changing for me. The negative self-talk that lived with me for decades began to dissolve. For the first time in my life, I felt what it was like to simply exist. The constant, running commentary of self-criticism quieted down.

That profound shift led me somewhere unexpected. I enrolled in psychedelic-assisted therapy training almost on a whim. "For kicks," I told myself at the time. The joke was on me.

During a ketamine experiential session in training, I had a very difficult experience. The issue was not the medicine itself. It happened afterward. During a group processing circle meant to encourage spontaneity, a facilitator degraded and silenced me. The next day, a medical colleague I respected made a comment that felt like mockery.

It was deeply painful. Yet, looking back, it became my true turning point.

Despite that poor group experience, something shifted for good. The medicine combined with two genuine connections with other colleagues helped me heal. I found real self-compassion and deep self-soothing. Since that specific day, I have not felt the core loneliness that shadowed my entire adult life.

"I went from searching for something in my life to living my life — literally days after my psychedelic experience."

What Groups Taught Me — The Healing and the Harm

I have seen the massive power of group healing. Being seen, heard, and held by people who understand your exact struggle is incredible. I have led groups, and I have sat in them as a member.

Yet, it was in a group session with other mental health professionals where I learned that groups can also wound. Professionals who should know better can still silence, dismiss, and demean others. Credentials do not guarantee kindness. Titles do not ensure safety.

But the psychedelic medicine helped me understand something at a biological level, not just an intellectual one: I am just as worthy to speak about my beliefs as anyone else in the room. My experiences matter. My knowledge matters. My 25-plus years of patient care matter.

Since that realization, I speak up. I do this regardless of another person's professional standing or education. I am heard, and it feels good.

That major shift — from silence to voice, from deference to dignity — is exactly what I help my clients find within themselves.

The Combination That Changed Everything

I want to be clear: life did not suddenly become easy. When you move from the sidelines into the game, you fail and learn. But at least I am finally in the game.

No single therapeutic approach did it all. It was the specific combination that worked:

• Psychoanalytic therapy gave me an understanding of my historical patterns.
• Shame resilience work (Brené Brown's method) gave me practical everyday skills.
• Somatic Experiencing® released the trauma that talk therapy could not reach.
• Psychedelic therapy integrated everything and dissolved my deep loneliness.

I now believe that for some people, loneliness is a distinct clinical issue that requires targeted treatment. It is not solved by generic advice to "go out and connect." I spent years being told that connection was the easy answer. When it did not work, I blamed myself. That traditional approach can cause real harm.

This unique combination changed my life. It is exactly why I offer these specific tools to my clients. Sometimes you need more than one doorway to find your way home.

Clinical Experience

I bring **25+ years** of direct clinical practice to our work. My experience spans private practice, community mental health centers, and managed care systems. This broad background ensures your therapy is both clinically rigorous and deeply human.

Practice History and Clinical Lineage

Our practice has proudly served the Washington, DC community since 2002. I established one of the DC area's earliest LGBTQ+-affirming harm reduction websites at clubdrugcounselor.com. This resource focused directly on gay men's mental health, party drug safety, and harm reduction. It predated most institutional programs in this space.

The practice operated under josephlafleur.com starting in 2004. It moved to districtcounseling.com in 2012 under the name LaFleur Counseling. Later, it took on its current name: District Counseling and Psychotherapy.

The legal trade name — District Counseling and Psychotherapy at Joseph LaFleur and Associates — is fully registered in the District of Columbia. The domains districtcounselingpsychotherapy.com, bebravegrow.com, and clubdrugcounselor.com all redirect safely to districtcounseling.com.

This 20-plus year history in LGBTQ+ mental health, harm reduction, and gay men's wellbeing is the foundation of our work. Today, it inspires our specialized care in psychedelic integration, somatic experiencing, men's mental health, and trauma-informed recovery.