Dennis Cassan

I bring many years of experience working with the VA in various settings including psychiatry, medicine, and addiction medicine. Throughout my career, I've worked with people from many cultures and backgrounds, including those facing significant challenges. This experience has given me a deep perspective on suffering and how to help restore people to a place of reasonable existence. I come from a mixed immigrant family—my father immigrated from Italy at age five—and witnessing his concerns about adapting to a foreign country taught me compassion for people who are suffering. This background helped shape the empathy that drew me into this profession. I hold an MSW and am a licensed clinical social worker.

My approach centers on listening and providing an opportunity for you to express your concerns in a safe atmosphere where you can receive care and concern that may be difficult to find outside of therapy. I focus on building a relationship that is safe and allows for trust and confidence to develop. This creates a space where you can bring concerns to therapy that you might not feel comfortable discussing elsewhere.

In our first session, I'll ask you to tell me what pressing concern brings you to therapy and what you want to address. I follow a principle I learned in grad school: "start where the patient is." This means we'll begin with what matters most to you right now.