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Carson Eckard, LPC, NCC | LGBTQ+ Therapist PA & NJ
I’m Carson, a queer and transgender therapist who believes therapy works best when you don’t have to leave pieces of yourself at the door.
I work with teens and adults navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, identity, neurodivergence, relationships, and the complicated process of figuring out who you are and what you want your life to look like.
My approach is warm, collaborative, creative, and occasionally a little unconventional. There may be humor. There may be metaphors. We might talk about coping skills, relationships, gender, Dungeons & Dragons, the thing you saw on TikTok, or why your nervous system has apparently decided that everything is an emergency.
You don't need to arrive knowing exactly what you want to work on. We can figure that out together.
Queer & Transgender therapist offering affirming online therapy across Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
You might be in the right place if...
You’re exhausted from explaining yourself to people who should understand.
You’ve gotten really good at surviving, but you’re starting to wonder what comes after survival.
You’re queer, transgender, nonbinary, neurodivergent, questioning, or still figuring out what words fit.
Anxiety has turned your brain into a browser with 37 tabs open, and you have absolutely no idea where the music is coming from.
Trauma keeps showing up in places you didn’t invite it.
You’re navigating a major transition, and the version of yourself that got you here isn’t necessarily the version you want to carry forward.
Or maybe nothing is catastrophically wrong. You want a place to understand yourself better.
Carson's Specialties
LGBTQ+ & Gender-Affirming Therapy
Identity exploration, coming out, gender, sexuality, relationships, minority stress, rejection, belonging, and building a life that feels authentically yours.
Trauma & PTSD
Understanding what happened to you, how your nervous system adapted, and how those survival strategies may still be affecting your life today.
Neurodivergent-Affirming Therapy
ADHD, autism, masking, executive functioning, burnout, sensory needs, identity, and finding strategies that work with your brain rather than constantly fighting against it.
Anxiety & Depression
For brains that won't turn off, motivation that's disappeared, overwhelming emotions, disconnection, self-criticism, and the feeling that you're somehow falling behind.
Children, Teens, & Young Adults
Identity development, independence, school and college transitions, relationships, family dynamics, adulthood, and the general chaos involved in becoming a person.
Play-Based Intervention
Using play, games, art, and creativity to explore emotions, build skills, and make therapy feel more accessible and engaging.
What Therapy With Me Is Like
I don't believe there's one correct way to do therapy.
My work draws from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), DBT-informed skills, mindfulness, trauma-informed care, family systems, play and creative approaches, and other strategies depending on what actually works for you.
I'm also developing the Ascension Atlas Model, a framework for understanding wellbeing across six interconnected areas of life: Relational, Physical, Cerebral, Emotional, Purposeful, and Potential.
Sometimes our work is about reducing symptoms. Sometimes it's about understanding patterns, strengthening relationships, reconnecting with your body, finding meaning, building capacity, or discovering possibilities you haven't had room to consider yet.
Therapy isn't just about asking, “What's wrong?”
I'm much more interested in asking, “Where are you now, where do you want to go, and what might help you get there?”
Lived Experience Matters Here
I'm openly queer and transgender, and I know there can be something different about entering a therapy space where you don't have to start with LGBTQ+ 101.
Shared identity doesn't mean I'll automatically understand every part of your experience. Your story is still yours.
What it does mean is that queer and trans identities aren't treated as unusual, uncomfortable, or something that needs to be explained before we can get to the reason you actually came to therapy.
The same philosophy shapes my work with neurodivergent clients and others who have spent a lot of time adapting themselves to environments that weren't necessarily designed with them in mind.
Credentials
Carson Eckard, M.S., LPC, NCC
Licensed Professional Counselor
Pennsylvania (PC019364) & New Jersey (37PC01289300)
National Certified Counselor
1597988
M.S., Community & Trauma Counseling; Childhood Trauma and Play Therapy
Thomas Jefferson University, 2021
B.S. Psychology (2019)
Thomas Jefferson University, 2019
Domestic Violence Response Team (DVRT) Certification, 2025
Confidential Sexual Assault Victim Advocate (CSAVC), 2025
Beyond the Therapy Room
Mental health doesn't begin and end with a 50-minute therapy session.
Outside of individual counseling, my work focuses on LGBTQ+ mental health education, community connection, accessible mental health resources, and exploring how recreation, creativity, identity, belonging, and purpose contribute to well-being.
I created the Ascension Atlas Model as an evolving framework for thinking about those connections, and I provide mental health education through the Summit & Shelter Collective.
My broader work is grounded in a simple question: how do we help people build lives that contain more than survival?
When I'm not wearing my therapist hat, you'll probably find me somewhere between hiking, camping, playing softball, chasing some overly ambitious community project, consuming entirely too much media, or turning something that could have been a simple concept into an elaborate metaphor.
I believe joy, play, curiosity, nature, and connection deserve space in conversations about mental health too.
You Don't Have to Know Where You're Going Yet.
Sometimes therapy starts with a clear destination. Sometimes it starts with knowing that where you are right now isn't where you want to stay.
Either is enough.
If you're looking for an LGBTQ+ affirming, neurodivergent-affirming, trauma-informed therapist in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, I'd be glad to see if Ascension Point feels like the right fit.
Get in Touch
Feel free to connect with us via our web form or by emailing us directly to schedule a session or ask questions about our therapy options! We look forward to hearing from you!
hello@ascensionpointbh.com
Ascension Point Behavioral Health
Your journey, lifted.
hello@ascensionpointbh.com
(267) 291.4540
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Please note that all content on this website is not to be interpreted as therapeutic advice or a replacement for seeking professional support.