Mark Dowds

I'm Mark, a bilingual (English/Spanish) therapist with experience working in a broad range of ethnic communities, including urban, suburban and on the South American continent. After earning my MSW at Boston University, I spent years working in psychiatric day treatment centers, juvenile justice programs, community health clinics, schools, and home visits in Boston — with clients from age 6 to 70, representing diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. I bring that depth of real-world experience, and a genuine commitment to understanding your world on your own terms, to every session.

Building trust is where everything starts for me, even during an initial assessment. I want to understand your particular struggles in your own terms and from your own cultural perspective, not mine. Once we have that foundation, we work together to find new ways to understand what is getting in the way and develop more effective strategies to move through it. Throughout that process, my role is to offer consistent support, honest encouragement, and help you build confidence in your own ability to change.

From the moment we start, my goal is to make you feel genuinely welcomed and heard. We will talk through what has brought you here and what you most want to change. I will also cover the basics such as confidentiality, your rights as a client, and how the process works, so you feel fully informed and in control. By the end of that first session, most people leave with a clearer sense of the direction we will take together.