Therapy Group of DC
Dr. Brad Brenner, Ph.D.
Career, identity & the relationship patterns that shape your life
Hear directly from Brad
In this brief introduction, Brad shares how he went from aspiring scientist to therapist, the two challenges he's most passionate about helping clients navigate, and what he loves about the people who call DC home.
“One of the best things about living in DC is the nerds that call it home.”
— Brad Brenner, Ph.D., Therapist DCAbout Dr. Brenner
If you’re someone who thinks a lot — about your career, your relationships, who you’re becoming — but you still feel stuck, I get it. The people I work with tend to be smart, driven, and deeply invested in their lives. They’re not falling apart. They’re just aware that something isn’t working the way it should, and they want to understand why.
I’m a counseling psychologist, which means my training is strengths-based from the ground up. I don’t start with what’s broken. I start with what’s already working — your insight, your ambition, your willingness to be here — and I use that as the foundation for everything we do together. I’ve spent my career watching clients go further than they thought possible once they stop measuring themselves against outdated expectations.
“I want you to find tenacity, calm, and resourcefulness within. My job is to help you find it.”
Brad Brenner, Ph.D., Therapist DC
My Approach
I work psychodynamically, which means I’m interested in patterns — the ones you can name and the ones you can’t. How your past relationships show up in your current ones. Why you keep hitting the same wall at work. The gap between how other people see you and how you see yourself. These patterns aren’t random, and understanding where they come from is what makes real, lasting change possible.
I’m particularly drawn to the intersection of career and identity — the way your work shapes how you feel about yourself, and how your sense of self shapes the work you pursue. In a city like DC, where what you do is often the first thing people ask, that intersection can carry enormous weight. I take it seriously without making it precious.
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I also bring a deep focus on relationship dynamics — not couples work, but the individual experience of being in relationships that don’t quite fit, or patterns of connection and disconnection that keep repeating. If you find yourself drawn to the same kinds of people, or stuck in the same kinds of conflicts, there’s a reason. My job is to help you see it clearly enough to choose something different.
I co-founded Therapy Group of DC in 2003 with Keith Clemson, and everything about how this practice operates — the therapists we hire, the training programs we run, the way we think about matching — comes from a belief that people stop believing in their potential too soon. I’ve been recognized by the American Psychological Association for contributions to counseling psychology and the advancement of psychotherapy. I also co-founded the Capital Therapy Project and WithTherapy — both built on the same conviction that the right therapy, with the right person, changes everything.
Educational Background
Common Questions
I’ll want to hear what brought you here — not just the surface-level answer, but what’s been building. I’ll ask about your work, your relationships, how you think about yourself. I’m not running through a checklist. I’m trying to understand how your world works from the inside so we can figure out together where the leverage points are. By the end of that first conversation, you should feel heard and have a clearer sense of what we’d be working on.
It means we pay attention to patterns — not just what’s happening right now, but why it keeps happening. We’ll look at how your early experiences shaped the way you relate to people, how you handle conflict, what you expect from yourself. It’s not about lying on a couch analyzing dreams. It’s about developing a deeper understanding of yourself so that the changes you make actually stick. I bring a strengths-based lens to this work, so we’re always building on what’s already strong in you.
The Capital Therapy Project is a community-based training institute that Keith Clemson and I created to train doctoral-level therapists in high-quality psychodynamic and EFT-based work while offering therapy at lower fees to people in DC who might not otherwise afford it. Every CTP therapist is supervised by a licensed psychologist on our team. It’s one of the things I’m proudest of building.
Yes. I work both in-person at our Dupont Circle office and via telehealth for clients in DC, Virginia, and Maryland. The approach is the same either way — psychodynamic work translates well to video because the focus is on conversation, reflection, and the relationship between us.
Ready — or still deciding?
Either way, we’ll make it easy. Get started with Dr. Brenner directly, or tell us what you’re looking for and we’ll help you find the right fit. Takes a few minutes — no commitment.
Transparent Pricing & Insurance Support
Life in DC can be complicated. Insurance paperwork shouldn’t be. We handle the paperwork to make reimbursement simple.