Rate Marcus Johnson

My name is Marcus Johnson, and I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Certified Rehabilitation Counselor with more than 20 years of experience supporting people through trauma, anxiety, depression, grief, relationship and family concerns, disability and chronic health conditions, stress, and major life transitions.

My approach to therapy is collaborative, strength-based, trauma-informed, and grounded in the belief that people should be understood within the full context of their lives. Mental health does not exist separately from family, culture, identity, relationships, health, disability, discrimination, access, or the environments in which we live. I work with clients to understand how these experiences intersect while identifying strengths, developing practical strategies, and creating meaningful opportunities for change.

My clinical background includes rehabilitation counseling and extensive experience working with people navigating disability, changes in health and independence, trauma, loss, and significant life transitions. I integrate Motivational Interviewing, cognitive behavioral strategies, trauma-focused interventions, behavioral approaches, and solution-oriented techniques based on each client’s individual needs. I am an active therapist who values honest conversation, collaboration, self-determination, and helping clients translate insight into action.

My lived experience also informs how I understand resilience, identity, adaptation, and transformation. Before entering the counseling profession, I attended The Juilliard School as a full-scholarship dance student. At age 20, after completing my second year, I sustained a spinal cord injury in a motor vehicle accident. That experience fundamentally changed the direction of my life but did not diminish its possibilities.

Following my injury, I earned a bachelor’s degree from New York University, a master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from NYU, and a Master of Social Work from Fordham University. My personal and professional experiences have taught me that adapting to change does not require surrendering who we are. It can involve discovering different ways of exercising agency, defining purpose, building relationships, and moving forward.

Beyond my clinical practice, my career has included more than two decades of advocacy and leadership alongside people with physical disabilities and chronic health conditions. I have worked extensively at the intersection of mental health, healthcare, disability, community living, self-advocacy, and systems navigation. That experience has strengthened my ability to recognize when an individual’s struggle cannot be separated from barriers within the systems surrounding them.

I welcome adults from diverse backgrounds and experiences, including people with disabilities and chronic health conditions, members of LGBTQ+ communities, people navigating racial and cultural identity, and individuals working through faith, relationships, family concerns, or major changes in their lives. I strive to provide a therapeutic space where clients can bring the fullness of who they are without having to minimize or explain away important parts of their identities and experiences.

My role is not to tell you who you should become. It is to work alongside you in understanding where you are, what matters to you, and what may help you move toward the life you want. Therapy with me is collaborative, empowering, and purposeful. Together, we can explore what has happened, understand how it continues to affect you, recognize the strengths you already possess, and identify practical steps toward meaningful change.

If you’re ready to begin that work, I’m ready to work alongside you.

I look forward to working with you.