Dr. Thomas Luttrell, PhD, LCMFT, LMFT

Dr. Thomas Luttrell View Specialties

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Meet Dr. Tom
 
Tired of the status quo? Stuck in a rut in your relationships, wellness, business, intimacy, or spirituality? I help align all parts of your life with your true authentic self. Together, we’ll secure genuine change through acceptance first. I'm Dr. Tom, and I provide whole-person counseling and coaching to individuals, couples, and families since 2007. 
 
My Experience

I have a PhD in marriage and family therapy and I'm licensed for independent practice as a Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist in California (LMFT 111604), the District of Columbia (LMFT200001211), and Maryland (LCMFT, LCM754), and am a professional coach across the U.S. I'm also a former associate professor of psychology and counseling.
 
My Passion
 
Our mission at HigherChange LLC is to be a safe space for people to be accepted and to grow into their life goals. I went from “stress to success” in my life by finding serenity. My own personal life story is about going from being unmotivated and stuck in negative thinking, to surrendering to a Higher Power and finding serenity and peace in my life. I’m most passionate about accepting people from all backgrounds, especially those who have been rejected by society and helping people who struggled with ADHD, anxiety, and addiction to find peace and acceptance in their lives.
 
Therapy is for when you’re stuck. Coaching is about finding success through that serenity. I like to help transform creative professionals by promoting “acceptance first” so that you can find peace and serenity in your own life. I call my approach "Treasure Therapy" or "Treasure Coaching" because everyone has inherent dignity and worth. I invite you on a journey to discover the rich treasures inside each of us!

My Services

Our practice includes life coaching, health coaching, couples therapy, business coaching, and sex therapy. I personally focus on:

1) Relationship Mindfulness -- Couples distracted by addiction, ADHD, anxiety and depression and struggle with intimacy to develop greater awareness, acceptance, and assertiveness. I can help couples to:
  • Feel normal and accepted in your struggles,
  • Be comfortable with conflict or differences,
  • Have greater awareness about your feelings,
  • Feel empowered and that your voice is heard in a safe place,
  • Learn to respectfully express your challenges with each other without hurting the other person,
  • Hear each other despite painful circumstances, and
  • Accept each other's experiences in a safe place.

2) Relationship Balance™ -- This is especially for engaged or cohabiting couples in distress, including couples who live together who stopped valuing each other, or are afraid of commitment, or both and want to be happy again. I can help couples to:
  • Have a more mutually satisfying relationship.
  • Come to a better understanding (attunement) of your partner’s experience.
  • Value each other’s contributions to the relationship.
  • Identify fears that they have about staying in the relationship.
  • Identify your role in the relationship (transactional analysis).
  • Recommit to each other with an unconditioned commitment to each other.

3) Authentic Masculinity-- I help young husbands and fathers who want to be more sexually fulfilled, and perhaps struggle with sexual compulsivity or infidelity - especially men from a Christian or religious background whose beliefs can create more shame about sexuality. I help men to:
  • Feel normal and accept your sexuality, including your struggles,
  • Access your underlying emotions in a safe and supportive place,
  • Clarify what your needs are, especially when it comes to sexuality,
  • Assertively communicate your desires related to sex,
  • Navigate how to have greater authenticity and alignment between your desires and your core values,
  • Destigmatize and normalize talking about gender issues,
  • See women more in context of relationships rather than mere sex objects or as trophies or status symbols,
  • See women as unique individuals rather than representatives of your gender, and
  • Identify your own worth that is not dependent on gender prescriptions.

4) Engagement Empowerment -- I provide premarital couples therapy to help engaged couples to:
  • Diagnose problems that derail or prevent a couple from moving forward.
  • Negotiate solutions for problems, creating a new family culture if necessary.
  • Know more about each other's desires, needs, and expectations.

 5) Sexual Synergy -- I help committed couples who struggle with sex-related concerns, such as unequal libido, sexual compatibility, or performance issues.
 
Insurance Coverage
 For mental health issues, I accept Blue Cross Blue Shield and affiliates (CareFirst, Anthem, BCBS Federal Employee Program, etc) and Cigna or Evernorth. HOWEVER, please note that to qualify for insurance benefits, therapy must be related to a mental health diagnosis, like anxiety, depression, PTSD, etc., that has medical necessity. Most insurance plans do not cover relationship or sexual issues. Please do not ask us to bill your insurance for relationship or sexual issues without first contacting your insurance company to check to see if your plan covers it. (We don't want to keep asking them.) Yes, this is sad given that relationships and sexuality are the primary driving forces for mental health concerns, which impact our overall physical health. Also, we can't make up a diagnosis either, as this is insurance fraud and can cost us our license and result in serious penalties. Plus, insurance companies occasionally audit psychotherapy notes to ensure that treatment is related to the reported diagnosis. You can always choose to skip insurance and pay for therapy out of pocket. This will maximize your privacy and widen your pool of therapists.  
 
 
 


Dr. Dr. Thomas Luttrell Reaches

Silver Spring MD