Merlin Slade

Merlin is a trauma-informed therapist with a strong background in intersectionality, LGBTQIA studies, and social justice. Prior to graduating with an MSW from the Silberman School of Social Work and becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of Rhode Island, Merlin had been volunteering as a facilitator for transgender and nonbinary discussion group sessions. Through this work, he found that he adored supporting others in processing their own relationships to gender and sexuality, identifying the impact of systemic oppression on their own self-esteem and interactions with others, and reframing these harmful narratives to build self-empowerment and family acceptance.

Merlin’s specialties include work with adolescents and adults, queer and trans populations (including those often excluded from conversations, such as aro-ace, bi, pan, nonbinary, and intersex individuals), neurodiverse populations, and people who’ve had long-term mental health struggles. He supports clients in developing self-confidence, reducing stress and anxiety, advocating for needs, asserting boundaries, and connecting to supportive environments. He also often works with family members to help them develop understanding and process their own feelings as family relationships shift over time. Merlin has training in CBT, trauma-focused CBT, Trauma Systems Therapy, and CBITS, and he has experience with the foster system and with school-based mental health. With a B.F.A in Illustration, Merlin often incorporates visual arts and storytelling into his therapeutic work.

Merlin believes very strongly in the power of therapy to help others. However, he is also well aware of how therapy has been used as a tool to control many marginalized communities and gatekeep access to resources. As such, he strives to have a collaborative, client-centered approach in his work, and he is always willing to receive feedback and make necessary changes.