Supervision & Consultation

In addition to clinical work, I provide private supervision for psychotherapists as well. This includes psychodynamically-oriented clinical supervision, as well as mentoring individuals who are seeking to start, grow, and market their own private practice. I am committed to decolonizing psychotherapy and supervision, and welcome both BIPOC therapists seeking a safe(r) supervision and white therapists looking to reflect on how whiteness may be impacting their clinical work. I offer supervision online and am licensed in California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont. I have been a consultant to a variety of organizations in the health, technology and education industries.  This includes strong experience and commitment to education within and to several school systems, identifying and serving children with special needs, including development of Individualized Education Plans and accommodations. I evaluate and help to develop functional behavior assessments and plans for children and adolescents who need extra support and understanding in order to make effective progress in their public school environment.

I currently research and teach about the interface between online technologies and clinical theory and practice. In particular I am focusing on the use of online gaming from a self-psychological and object relations perspective; as well as the impact of social networks on interpersonal relationships. I can bring some of my training to your setting, please contact me for information on in-services or upcoming workshops.

I serve as a resource for educators and families on Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender awareness and safety, as well as other issues of diversity, including race, cultural awareness, and non-traditional families. In 2006 I was appointed by the State of Massachusetts to the Massachusetts Commission for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth. I currently serve in an advisory capacity to the National Association of Social Workers on issues including youth suicide prevention.

In terms of my supervisory and treatment philosophy, I invite supervisees to consider not just the psyche but the social, the intersections of the political and the body. Freud once said “the Ego is first & foremost a body ego.” Yet psychodynamic theory & those of us who practice psychodynamic psychotherapy often avoid attending to the body. Potential patients may reasonably ask why it matters.

The United States is a nation that continues to reckon with its history of chattel slavery & current caste system, based on the hierarchization of bodily characteristics, i.e. race. Bodies in this country have been moved by immigration, transported, used and traded as goods, and in the case of indigenous bodies, invaded and infected.

Furthermore, bodies with differing qualities & abilities are marginalized in the phenomenon of ableism. Bodies are often the vehicle for expressing love & desire, their object choices & expressions limited by shame; taboo (homophobia, biphobia, kink-shaming.) Aging bodies are seen as less desirable; valuable (ageism.) Bodies are assigned genders at birth, responded to differently based on those genders, & attempts to redefine oneself; one’s body are met with resistance (sexism, transphobia.) Bodies are a vehicle of labor, & as such are often used, misused, & regulated (attacks on reproductive rights, trafficking.) Many of these attacks on the body intersect, & many are disproportionately directed at BIPOC people. Recently, we have seen an uptick in legislation which seeks to reduce if not undo the gains that we have been making in expanding freedoms which impact both the mind & body.

If the Ego is indeed first and foremost a body ego, if our self is embedded in a sociocultural context, then psychotherapy needs to take these issues of marginalization into account as part of our work together. The therapy that I strive to practice takes that into account. I am a lifelong learner & teacher of that principal as well, & regularly pursue further education on antiracism specifically and decolonizing psychotherapy in general. This synchs up very clearly in my mind to the importance of play & emerging technology in terms of increasing access, amplifying freedom & insight, & collapsing the time & space within which oppression exists. And, yes, the therapy I practice is “woke”—how could any therapy that strives to raise things up from the unconscious & increase insight not be?

Here’s what other people say about working with me:

• “Michael has acted as a supervisor and consultant for the Couples and Family Program at the Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Medical School in his capacity as Teaching Associate. He has been invaluable to our students and our program. Michael practices couples/family therapy in a psychodynamic model. He has been very well liked by students and offers a perspective to treatment that inspires both learners and clients alike.” —Danielle Green, Director, Couples and Family Clinical/Training Program, Cambridge Health Alliance

• “Michael’s intellect and ability to strategically conceptualize work goals make him very effective. He combines these capacities with a balance of good humor and authentic caring for others, which enlivens his work. Michael’s ongoing commitment to advancing his clinical acumen reflects his deep curiosity and dedication to understanding our human nature.” —Karen Bellows, PhD, LSCSW

• “Michael gave a fascinating, insightful, original and theoretically sound presentation on a subject that has rarely, if ever, been examined in the psychotherapy literature. He’s relaxed, warm and smart, and I would not hesitate to refer clients to him.” — Cynthia Fertman

• “Mike Langlois and I work as colleagues /faculty supervisors at Cambridge Health Alliance (officially appointed as faculty at Harvard Medical School)…Mike has a deep understanding of psychodynamic theory and developmental psychology, psychopathology, family systems theory, self psychology, and … is highly valued as a clinical supervisor who teaches on both a theoretical and a practical level, helping clinicians formulate their cases and then think differentially about what approaches to apply and when, as well as how to use themselves effectively as clinicians in various clinical settings. Mike has also spoken to discuss a film at the NASW MA Film Festival and again, he was erudite and most engaging as speaker and facilitator of audience discussion of the film.  I highly recommend Mike as a professional clinical social worker, academic instructor, and clinical supervisor. He is bright, articulate, highly ethical, compassionate, empathic, and highly collaborative. —Goldie Eder, Clinical Supervisor, Ambulatory Social Work, Cambridge Health Alliance

• “I was recommended to Mike when I was in the preliminary stages of beginning my own private psychotherapy practice. Working with Mike was an invaluable experience. He was able to provide valuable insight and knowledge into what one needs to do to build a successful practice in this day and age. I was able to take all of the information and wisdom he provided and create my own business. Within six months of working together, I had a fully functioning practice. I would highly recommend Mike for consultation, as well as for clinical supervision.” —Melanie Smith-Thuret