Meet Karl (he/him)

Image of Karl Reichert LMHC, sitting at his air brush station painting a purple worm for an upcoming dungeons and dragons game.

I have been part of the nerd/geek culture since I first learned to read. I grew up on geek staples such as Batman: the animated series and devouring any horror, sci-fi, or fantasy book I could get my hands on. Unfortunately, being a geeky kid in the middle of nowhere didn’t lend itself to immersing myself in geek culture (this was pre-Internet, and it was even longer before something better than dial-up came along). Video games and books were my only real outlet and I devoured them, losing myself in Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts and a variety of JRPGs, RPGs, FPSs, Stephen King, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Lloyd Alexander as much as I could. It wasn’t until I had nearly graduated high school that I discovered like-minded geeks, who introduced me to Dungeons and Dragons, Vampire: The Masquerade, Magic the Gathering, and miniature painting, that I finally started feeling like I belonged somewhere.

I roll the dice, fling spells, and try desperately to get creamy blends. I have stood on both sides of the GM screen. I go to anime, comic, and game conventions, so I know what it’s like to be extremely excited about them. I also know what it’s like to be completely exhausted at the end of the day at a convention: feeling anxious, irritated, and overwhelmed by the many people packed into the convention center and wondering why I feel like this when I have been surrounded by all the things in geekdom that I love. It took me a long time to understand why these things were happening to me: I’m autistic, but I didn’t know it for most of my life. It took even longer to find a therapist who could help me engage in my special interests in a better way—a way that wasn’t just me pushing myself to get to the other side, only to collapse exhausted. I work with clients who have these or similar experiences, because life doesn’t have to be all “fake it ’til you make it” or always having others tell you what you are thinking or feeling

Photo of Karl Reichert, LMHC, wearing the 4th doctor's scarf (from Doctor Who), glasses, and a black driving cap. Karl is a white man with reddish blond beard.

I am a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) in Washington state and a licensed professional counselor (LPC) in Oregon. I am also allowed to provide telehealth services in ID. I earned my master’s degree in counseling psychology from Saint Martin’s University in 2015 and began working as a therapist in 2016. My training focused on Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) for adults. More recently, I have come to understand why I leaned toward such a structured system—many autistic people love structure and routine. I have also realized that DBT is not for everyone and as such have attempted to take a more client-centered approach to therapy. I have done volunteer work with Take This in their AFK room program at PAX West, in order to help support geek culture at one of the most crowded conventions in the state.