Dr. Keith Mayo

I am a licensed psychologist with more than 20 years of experience working across clinical, governmental, and organizational settings. I completed my doctoral training at Indiana State University (an APA-accredited, university-based Psy.D. program) and received advanced clinical training at the VA Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky. Following my training, I joined the VA as a staff psychologist and spent five years specializing in the assessment and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder, working with veterans in both residential and outpatient settings.

For the past 15 years, I have worked as a staff psychologist with the U.S. Department of State, where my work has focused primarily on psychological assessment and selection, consultation, and a range of personnel-related matters. Across these very different settings, I have remained especially interested in understanding people within the broader context of their lives, helping them make sense of difficult experiences, and translating psychological insight into practical change.

I bring that same perspective to psychotherapy. My goal is to offer clients a thoughtful, experienced, and collaborative space where they can better understand what is getting in their way and develop practical strategies for moving forward.

My primary clinical training is in evidence-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and those principles continue to provide an important foundation for my work. At the same time, I do not believe that effective therapy should feel like a rigid protocol. People differ in what they need from treatment, how they make sense of their experiences, and what types of interventions are most useful to them. For that reason, I draw from a variety of therapeutic approaches and adapt treatment to the needs, preferences, personality, and goals of the person I am working with.

My style is warm, affirming, collaborative, and I enjoy incorporating humor into my sessions when appropriate. I want therapy to be a place where you look forward to, feel comfortable being candid, and where you also feel that our work is moving somewhere meaningful. Together, we will identify concrete goals for treatment, regularly check in on whether therapy is helping, and make adjustments when needed. I value insight, but I also believe that insight is most useful when it leads to greater confidence, better choices, and meaningful improvements you can see in your everyday life.

Most importantly, I see treatment as a collaborative process. I will bring psychological expertise and years of clinical experience to our work, but you bring the expertise about your own life. My job is not to impose a particular way of thinking or a predetermined treatment plan, but to help us find an approach that makes sense for you and remains aligned with what you hope to accomplish.

Our first meeting will be primarily an opportunity for me to hear from you. I will want to understand what has brought you to therapy, what has been happening in your life, and what you are hoping will be different as a result of our work together. You will have plenty of room to describe your concerns in your own way, rather than feeling as though you are being taken through a highly structured interview.

At the same time, I will ask some questions about your background, relationships, health, previous experiences with therapy, and other areas that may be relevant. The purpose is not to complete a checklist, but to gather enough essential context to understand your concerns accurately and to avoid viewing any one problem in isolation.

We will also begin talking about what you would like from therapy and what kind of therapeutic style feels most useful to you. Some people want practical strategies and a fairly active approach. Others need more time to process, understand patterns, or simply have a place to talk openly before deciding what they want to change. Both are completely reasonable, and I will aim to tailor my approach and style to your comfort level.

By the end of the first session, my goal is for us to have an initial shared understanding of what is bringing you to therapy, what you would like to work toward, and how we might approach that work together. As therapy continues, I will regularly check that our focus and methods remain aligned with your goals, expectations, and sense of what is helpful.