Brandon Hatfield

Hello, I'm Brandon, a gay, cis-male psychotherapist, and I have been serving the community in the heart of Atlanta for well over a decade. Until I established Seeking Harmony Counseling, my focus was on treating some of the most vulnerable among us, as evidenced by my eleven years at Grady Memorial Hospital.

Working at Grady gave me extensive experience in helping individuals struggling with severe and persistent forms of mental illness (SPMI). This category includes diagnoses with the most debilitating symptoms, such as mood disorders (e.g., major depression and bipolar disorder), psychotic disorders (such as schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder), and PTSD.

I have also spent countless hours in therapy with individuals struggling with issues surrounding sexuality, gender identity and expression, and those living with HIV/AIDS. Additionally, many of the individuals I saw were living in active addiction or dealing with other types of addictive behaviors like shopping, compulsive hoarding, and sex addiction. When two or more of these challenges come together, we call it dual diagnosis, and this often requires a more intensive approach. Living and working in the same community as those I serve allows me to model recovery-oriented practices from my own life.

My therapy style is person-centered, experiential, and driven by the tenet that awareness itself can be curative. Only by learning to live in the here-and-now can we shed the dark specters of our past, conquer our most paralyzing fears, and become aligned with the innate potential that we each possess.

I see my community because I am part of it, and I believe that the best way to help others facilitate positive change is to live my own life from a recovery-focused mindset. I am no stranger to emotional hardship, and by developing my own thoughtful harm-reduction strategies, setting realistic goals, deploying healthy coping strategies, and limiting maladaptive and harmful behaviors, I have gained priceless lived experience, which equips me to empower others to identify how they can live more fulfilling lives.

We start wherever you are, and you determine our pace. I believe that by learning to live authentically in the here-and-now, we can rid ourselves of the dark specters of our past. Therapy with me often focuses on addressing life's many instances of unfinished business, which are those times in our lives that are often too painful to know how to deal with on our own.

Uncovering this unfinished business and working through it is just one of the many tools I use to help others uncover the root of what ails them and finally overcome some of their most paralyzing symptoms. After all, insight and awareness are integral in learning how to live a more satisfying life and becoming aligned with one's true potential.

If you're ready to start this journey together, I'm here to help you every step of the way.