Mark Houston, LCSW, QS

Hello All! You might find it easier to contact me if you’re more familiar with my personal and professional background, so here’s a little about me.

I was born in Central Florida, grew up in New Jersey, and spent most of my adult life in New York City before moving to Miami. At a young age, I didn’t always fit in. Those who made me feel different were seeing something I had not yet seen in myself: that I am a member of the LGBTQIA+ community.

As I grew up and moved into my adult life, I was fortunate to have experiences that allowed me to develop a stronger sense of who I am, and begin to disprove who I was told I was. Before becoming a clinician, I worked for 10 years in hotel management in New York City. During the mortgage crisis of 2008, many people were questioning how they could move forward in the downturned economy. I took that opportunity to make significant life changes in my life, and I took a tremendous leap and resigned from my career to seek a more purpose-driven life. I’m so grateful I did!

In 2011, I started volunteering at the Ali Forney Center (AFC), the nation’s largest LGBTQIA+ homeless youth organization. Working with homeless youth taught me the importance of consistency and reliability in building trusting relationships with individuals who have experienced trauma. My passion for serving the community grew during this time, which prompted my employment with AFC as a Youth Counselor in emergency housing and the drop-in center. This experience sparked my desire to attend college and begin a career in clinical social work.

Following my youth serving experience, I spent time in HIV/AIDS advocacy as a Housing Case Manager with Harlem United. I also worked in community mental health at The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center (New York City). There, I was fortunate to provide individual counseling, group counseling, and HIV testing services to individuals on the transgender feminine spectrum as part of The Center's Gender Identity Project.

Post-Masters, I went on to work as a clinician for a program funded by the New York City Department of Health in partnership with the City University of New York (CUNY). Under this grant, I provided counseling services to marginalized, at-risk community members who lacked access to mental health care. My experience with this program informs a collaborative care approach, which I use in clinical practice to coordinate increased access to care.

The dynamic personal and professional experiences afforded me have been filled with joy and sorrow, love and loss, and success and failures. These experiences have complimented how I practice. I employ a trauma-informed and intersectional approach to my work. I believe we should not sit in judgment of others because the choices we make in life are based on the resources we have available to us at the time. Therefore, who you are in the present day is shaped by your life experiences, and you are the only one who truly understands the reasons behind your choices.

I am a proud graduate of the City University of New York's Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, which teaches an anti-oppressive and anti-racist lens. I have received analytic training through the William Alanson White Institute in New York City, I am certified in Cognitive Behavior Therapy through Florida Atlantic University, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, and Gottman Couples Therapy.  

My office is a non-judgmental space for you to grow at your own pace. You may even have fun! We are in this together. I look forward to meeting you and bearing witness to your growth.