Matthew Goles, MA, LCPC

My areas of focus include:

• Adolescents and young adults
• Neurodivergent teens and adults
• ADHD and autism
• Emotional and behavioral challenges
• School difficulties and school avoidance
• Parent–teen conflict
• Stress, anxiety, and depression
• Gender identity and sexuality
• LGBTQ+ affirming therapy
• Couples and relationship concerns
• Grief and life transitions
• Identity, meaning, and self-understanding
• Tarot-informed therapeutic exploration
• Feeling misunderstood, disconnected, or uncertain about one’s place in the world

People often come to therapy after spending a long time feeling misunderstood, stuck, or exhausted by expectations that do not fit them. I specialize in working with adolescents, neurodivergent teens and adults, couples, and clients exploring stressors, relationships, gender, sexuality, and identity. I provide therapy that is direct, affirming, individualized, and interested in what lies beneath behavior—not simply how to make that behavior disappear.

I have worked with adolescents for approximately 20 years, including 5 years in therapeutic day school settings. During that time, I worked with young people experiencing depression, anxiety, family issues, adoption challenges, grief, addiction, legal issues, trauma, aggression, social challenges, executive functioning challenges, and many other concerns, 

That experience taught me to look beyond labels and immediate behavior. What appears to be defiance, avoidance, disengagement, or a lack of motivation may reflect overwhelm, fear, unmet needs, executive-functioning difficulties, previous experiences with adults, or a young person’s attempt to maintain some sense of control.

I am comfortable working with teens who are uncertain about therapy, reluctant to participate, distrustful of adults, or accustomed to being defined by their most difficult moments. I do not expect an adolescent to arrive ready to disclose everything or immediately trust me. Building an honest therapeutic relationship is part of the work.

When appropriate, I collaborate with parents and caregivers to support independence, growth, and comprehension of the cause of the underlying behavior that may be overseen.  My goal is to help families understand one another more clearly without making the adolescent—or any one family member—the entire problem.

I have extensive experience supporting neurodivergent adolescents and adults, including people with ADHD, autism, executive functioning issues, and demand avoidance.

My work is neurodiversity-affirming. The goal is not to force someone to appear more neurotypical or to eliminate harmless differences. Instead, we work to understand how the person thinks, communicates, processes information, responds to demands, and experiences their environment.

Therapy may include developing practical strategies, improving communication, identifying sensory or emotional needs, understanding executive functioning, strengthening self-advocacy, and reducing the shame that can develop after years of being told that you are lazy, difficult, overly sensitive, unmotivated, or not trying hard enough.

I particularly enjoy helping clients distinguish between what they genuinely want to change and what they have been pressured to change for the comfort of other people.

I support adolescents and adults exploring gender identity, gender expression, sexuality, relationships, self-acceptance, and the effects of family, cultural, religious, or social expectations. Clients may be questioning their identity, considering whether or how to come out, navigating changes in relationships, or trying to understand parts of themselves that have not previously felt safe to explore.

My role is not to direct clients toward a particular identity or outcome. I provide a respectful and affirming space where people can examine their experiences honestly, tolerate uncertainty, and develop a more authentic understanding of themselves. 

In couples therapy, I work with partners experiencing neurodivergent challenges, intimacy, trust, communication, and parenting challenges.

I do not approach couples therapy as a process of deciding who is right. Instead, we identify the pattern or cycle the couple has become caught in, what each partner may be protecting or reaching for, and how their responses affect one another.

Together, we work toward clearer communication, greater understanding, more deliberate choices, and healthier ways of responding during conflict. My approach to couples therapy is informed by the Gottman's and their training.

My style is direct, humorous and person centered. I do not believe that therapy should consist only of someone quietly listening while a client tries to determine what they are supposed to say. I participate in the conversation, ask questions, offer observations, and help clients examine patterns from perspectives they may not have considered.

At the same time, therapy should remain collaborative. I will not know more about your internal experience than you do. We will work together to determine what is helpful, what is not connecting, and what needs to change in our approach.

My clinical work draws from CBT, DBT, ACT, trauma-informed, family systems, Jungian, and bibliotherapy. Depending on the person, therapy may involve practical strategies, examining relationship patterns, exploring identity and meaning, challenging assumptions, developing emotional awareness, or simply creating enough safety to speak honestly.

I have received specialized training on the use of Tarot in the therapy setting and have a special interest in using tarot as an optional therapeutic intervention. When welcomed by the client, tarot can introduce images, symbols, archetypes, and stories that allow us to approach an experience from a different angle. A card may help externalize an internal conflict, reveal an unexpected association, or create language for something that has been difficult to express directly.

I do not use tarot to predict the future, provide predetermined answers, or replace clinical judgment. The cards do not tell clients what their experiences mean. Instead, we explore what the imagery evokes for the client and whether those reactions offer useful insight into identity, relationships, fears, values, choices, or possible directions.

Tarot is never required, and no spiritual belief or previous experience with it is necessary. For some clients it becomes a meaningful reflective tool; for others, traditional conversation and other therapeutic approaches are a better fit.

I earned my Master's in Clinical Psychology from Roosevelt University. I am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in Illinois and have worked in the mental health field for about 35 years.

My professional background includes therapeutic day schools, outpatient therapy, community mental health, private practice, supervision, crisis hotline and program development. I have also completed training in couples, tarot, and trauma.

I currently work with clients ages 10-100 and provide individual, couples, and family therapy. Sessions are available in person in Batavia or through telehealth.  Additional information about availability, insurance, and beginning therapy is available by contacting me directly.

Outside the office, I thoroughly enjoy riding my motorcycle and playing video games—despite having been born in the 1900s. I also enjoy calling myself a guitar player, despite having no business doing so.

You do not need to know exactly what is wrong, have the perfect words, or arrive with a clear treatment goal. You may only know that something is not working, that the same patterns keep repeating, or that you are tired of feeling misunderstood.

We can begin there. Together, we can make sense of what you are experiencing, identify what you want to be different, and develop an approach that respects both who you are and where you want to go.