About
Howard Thurman
About Vivant
Vivant Psychotherapy and Counseling gets its name from the French term, vivant, meaning alive, living, or lively, one having life, vigor, or spirit. In English it is used most commonly in terms like vivacious, revive, or vivid.
One of my favorite quotes is by the renowned theologian and civil rights leader, Howard Thurman, who said:
"Don't ask what the world needs.
Ask what makes you come alive, and go do that.
Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
I find this quote inspiring for several reasons. Not the least of these is that many of us really want to make the world a better place. We want to have a positive impact! For those whose life has come to lack vigor or vivacity, the lack can be painful and reverberate through the full spectrum of your experience. Your relationships, goals, health, and self-confidence can all seem dull at best, if not downright painful. It might be difficult to believe that you can come fully alive or that you matter in this world.
Moreover, your struggles may feel permanent at times, like they have come to define you rather than being a temporary setback to overcome. If that’s you, I have good news.
You can come alive!
And the world needs you, precisely you. The world needs you come alive!
Perhaps you are not able to take my word for it at this stage in your journey, and certainly the process is no simple matter. That's okay. Just reach out, and let us find out together what you can become. You have, in fact, already taken the first step toward healing by being here, reading this!
So please, call or email to book an appointment today!
“You can come alive!
And the world needs you, precisely you.
The world needs you come alive!”
About Matthew
I grew up on coast of Maine among the mountains of Acadia National Park. Now I live in North Carolina at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, though I seldom miss a chance to return to Acadia.
Between then and now I discovered a gift for helping people. I developed this passion during a decade of full time ministry, which led into graduate studies in divinity and counseling. I was deeply invested in understanding what makes people the way they are and how transformative change happens!
After graduating and marrying my incredibly brilliant wife, Anna, we moved to Waco, TX., where she completed her doctorate. (Sadly, no. We never got to meet the famed Fixer Uppers, Chip and Joanna). During her studies, I worked first in crisis counseling and continuity of care and then shifted into outpatient therapy. I transferred my license to North Carolina when we moved here and have since become licensed in my old stomping grounds of Maine, as well.
In addition to working part-time as a therapist, I am also completing a Ph.D. in practical theology. My dissertation takes a theological look at liberative changes in how men live out their sense of masculinity in relation to others. This is certainly relevant to my work as a therapist, but please note that in my practice I will not be addressed as "doctor," primarily because my doctorate will not be in psychology but also because I prefer plain old Matt.
So please, dear friends, feel free to call me Matt.
And when I'm not around the office, you're likely to find me in a coffee shop, a trail high in the Blue Ridge, strumming my guitar, reading a good book, or putzing around the house and roughhousing with my kids. On a particularly good day, I'll be scarfing a lobster roll before trekking around Acadia's bald mountains and rugged shorelines.
And you can't know me without knowing these facts, as well: I love my crazy family, and I love it when nature gets a few notches too wild.
