Today we’d like to introduce you to Seal Dwyer.
Hi Seal, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started my private practice in 2017. I chose to focus on providing services to queer folks with trauma because I was a queer folk with trauma. It was challenging, when I was looking for a therapist, to find people to whom I did not have to explain my identity.
And I don’t believe therapy should be about the client educating the therapist. So when I had a chance to be what I needed all those years ago, that’s what I did. And my practice has been growing ever since.
We all face challenges, but would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Until January 2021, my practice was part-time and I worked other jobs as a therapist around the area. But following 2020, for my health and because life is short, I decided to do private practice full-time.
My practice has been growing quite quickly, especially with the political mood of the country, and I have two employees and four interns now.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I live in a queer fat body. And that greatly informs the work that I do. I teach body-positive movement classes which tie together the mental health therapy piece and the physical health body piece.
I do a kind of therapy called EMDR, which is the number one treatment in the world for trauma. EMDR sometimes seems like magical therapy, in that it helps provide speedy and thorough healing. I work with all members of the LGBTQIA2S Community. I help folks access gender-affirming care. I provide advocacy and resources.
I was honored to testify in the Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota Senate this year in support of banning so-called conversion therapy. I’ve helped to found a non-profit called the Rainbow Wellness Collective. We are working to open an LGBTQ community center in downtown St. Cloud.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
When I was 7 years old, I was a tour guide at the Stearns History Museum. I was one of a group of youth volunteers. As part of my work, I learned a lot about the history of Stearns County and learned a great deal about Jane Grey Swisshelm.
I learned the story about how she was an abolitionist in St. Cloud and her printing press was thrown in the river by some thugs working for slave owners here in St. Cloud. Learning that the first mayor was one of these slave owners, I decided that I was simply going to have to be mayor someday and “make it right.” 7-year-old logic.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sealdwyer.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sealdwyercounseling
Image Credits
Brandon Paumen
