About
About
About
A SPACE
TO FEEL
UNDERSTOOD.
A SPACE
TO FEEL
UNDERSTOOD.
A SPACE
TO FEEL
UNDERSTOOD.
Dr. Char Houben (she/her) earned her PhD in Counseling Psychology from Western Michigan University. She has a rich training background in relational psychoanalytic therapy, health psychology, and neuropsychology, particularly focusing on late-identified adult autism. Her diverse experience spans outpatient clinics, universities, and community settings. She has a specific passion for serving adults from diverse backgrounds, including individuals from QTBIPOC and neurodivergent communities.
Dr. Char Houben (she/her) earned her PhD in Counseling Psychology from Western Michigan University. She has a rich training background in relational psychoanalytic therapy, health psychology, and neuropsychology, particularly focusing on late-identified adult autism. Her diverse experience spans outpatient clinics, universities, and community settings. She has a specific passion for serving adults from diverse backgrounds, including individuals from QTBIPOC and neurodivergent communities.
Dr. Char Houben (she/her) earned her PhD in Counseling Psychology from Western Michigan University. She has a rich training background in relational psychoanalytic therapy, health psychology, and neuropsychology, particularly focusing on late-identified adult autism. Her diverse experience spans outpatient clinics, universities, and community settings. She has a specific passion for serving adults from diverse backgrounds, including individuals from QTBIPOC and neurodivergent communities.
Dr. Houben was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. In her spare time, she enjoys research and data analysis, thinking through complex problems, travel, hiking, gardening, reading non-fiction, listening to podcasts, interpersonal connection, and the creative process.
Dr. Houben was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. In her spare time, she enjoys research and data analysis, thinking through complex problems, travel, hiking, gardening, reading nonfiction, listening to podcasts, interpersonal connection, and the creative process.
Dr. Houben was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. In her spare time, she enjoys research and data analysis, thinking through complex problems, travel, hiking, gardening, reading non-fiction, listening to podcasts, interpersonal connection, and the creative process.
Dr. Houben has expertise in a broad range of concerns including anxiety, depression, grief & loss, emotion dysregulation, chronic illness, emerging adult transitions, and interpersonal relationships. She has specialized, advanced training in working with developmental & complex trauma, neurodevelopmental concerns, identity development (race/ethnicity, sexuality & gender), racial minority stress, and health-related psychology.
Dr. Houben has expertise in a broad range of concerns, including anxiety, depression, grief and loss, emotion dysregulation, chronic illness, emerging adult transitions, and interpersonal relationships. She has specialized, advanced training in working with developmental and complex trauma, neurodevelopmental concerns, identity development (race/ethnicity, sexuality and gender), racial minority stress, and health-related psychology.
Dr. Houben has expertise in a broad range of concerns including anxiety, depression, grief & loss, emotion dysregulation, chronic illness, emerging adult transitions, and interpersonal relationships. She has specialized, advanced training in working with developmental & complex trauma, neurodevelopmental concerns, identity development (race/ethnicity, sexuality & gender), racial minority stress, and health-related psychology.
"It is a joy to be hidden and a disaster not to be found"
"It is a joy to be hidden and a disaster not to be found."
"It is a joy to be hidden and a disaster not to be found"
D.W. Winnicott
D.W. Winnicott
In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Houben is an active researcher affiliated with Western Michigan University, Stanford University, and The Autistic Autism Diagnosticians Collaborative. Her dissertation investigated how therapists’ attachment patterns influence the therapeutic relationship and outcomes. Using a novel, transcript-based measure of therapist attunement, she found that therapist who exhibited fewer detaching behaviors in session had clients who experienced clinically significant reductions in psychological distress. This work contributes to a growing body of research on the person of the therapist, who they are, what they bring — consciously and unconsciously — to the relational field.
Her dissertation investigated how therapists’ attachment patterns influence the therapeutic relationship and outcomes. Using a novel, transcript-based measure of therapist attunement, she found that therapists who exhibited fewer detaching behaviors in session had clients who experienced clinically significant reductions in psychological distress. This work contributes to a growing body of research on the person of the therapist—who they are and what they bring, consciously and unconsciously, to the relational field.
In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Houben is an active researcher affiliated with Western Michigan University, Stanford University, and The Autistic Autism Diagnosticians Collaborative. Her dissertation investigated how therapists’ attachment patterns influence the therapeutic relationship and outcomes. Using a novel, transcript-based measure of therapist attunement, she found that therapist who exhibited fewer detaching behaviors in session had clients who experienced clinically significant reductions in psychological distress. This work contributes to a growing body of research on the person of the therapist, who they are, what they bring — consciously and unconsciously — to the relational field.
Currently, Dr. Houben’s research focuses on several interrelated threads: the therapist’s role in repairing ruptures as they unfold within sessions, the development of therapist mentalization and its link to epistemic trust, and advanced training in attachment-based methods for clinicians. She is also partnering in a community-based study at Stanford Medicine’s Center for Sleep in Autism, exploring sleep health in autistic adults. Her broader research interests include adult autism, hormesis, the person of the therapist, adult attachment, epistemic trust, and the process and outcome of psychotherapy.
Our Process
Our Process
Our Process
01
Inquiry
You can initiate through my contact page or directly send me an email at hello@charhouben.phd
01
Inquiry
You can initiate through my contact page or directly send me an email at hello@charhouben.phd
01
Inquiry
You can initiate through my contact page or directly send me an email at hello@charhouben.phd
02
Consultation
We connect for a complimentary 15 minute consultation to answer initial questions and determine next steps
02
Consultation
We connect for a complimentary 15 minute consultation to answer initial questions and determine next steps
02
Consultation
We connect for a complimentary 15 minute consultation to answer initial questions and determine next steps
03
Intake
We meet, explore history, current concerns, and goals in the pursuit of crafting a treatment plan tailored to you
03
Intake
We meet, explore history, current concerns, and goals in the pursuit of crafting a treatment plan tailored to you
03
Intake
We meet, explore history, current concerns, and goals in the pursuit of crafting a treatment plan tailored to you
04
Continuation
We will continue a regular schedule of therapy appointments or for assessment clients we will meet and review your results
04
Continuation
We will continue a regular schedule of therapy appointments or for assessment clients we will meet and review your results
04
Continuation
We will continue a regular schedule of therapy appointments or for assessment clients we will meet and review your results