HeartWerq Quarterly Newsletter - Summer 2025
Dear reader,
Happy Pride month and welcome to the first quarterly newsletter from HeartWerq! This is a place where we will share seasonal updates on practice news and events. In this first edition we welcome our newest clinicians to the HeartWerq family, discuss international solidarity, recap our recent staff retreat, and more. Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter and we hope you will enjoy it!
A Note from the Clinical Director
Happy Pride Month! This year marks 55 years since the first Pride marches in 1970. Washington, DC is host to World Pride this year, coming at a time in which the LGBTQ+ community finds themselves under attack. It is important, now more than ever, to be visible, to speak out, and stand up for our communities and support the most vulnerable among us. Pride is both a time of celebration and one of protest. We at HeartWerq are keenly aware of the challenges the LGBTQ+ community faces and the impact these challenges can have on individual mental health and the collective wellbeing of the community. HeartWerq is proud to stand in solidarity with our community this month and throughout the year.
HeartWerq Celebrates LGBTQ+ Solidarity Across Borders
We are thrilled to celebrate World Pride right here in DC this month alongside the global LGBTQ+ community! Our in-person Executive Assistant, Walker, attended last week’s World Reception hosted by the DC Mayor’s office at the Rubell Museum. Here’s what he had to say about the experience:
“The first thing that struck me about this reception was the scale. It was my first time visiting the Rubell Museum, where the artwork towers over the viewer inside a grand space illuminated by lofty windows accentuated by restored exposed brick. This monumental setting emphasized the historic significance of welcoming the world to our city to celebrate Pride at a moment when our federal government is backsliding from recent progress on LGBTQ+ rights. In stark contrast to the White House, our DC city government embraces our community and welcomes our LGBTQ+ siblings from every place on Earth. The reception featured speakers from World Pride and from the city government, including Mayor Muriel Bowser. My favorite moment of the event was the beautiful a capella rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors by the Gay Men’s Chorus. For me, this reception served as a reminder of our community’s collective power to create unfettered space for ourselves at home and across borders in defiance of global trends towards authoritarianism. In 2025, let Pride exemplify joy as an act of resistance.”
Meanwhile, our remote Executive Assistant, Daniel, moved to Colombia this year where he continues to engage locally in the fight for LGBTQ+ social inclusion and justice. He attended a public memorial service for a trans woman named Sara Millerey González who was killed in an act of hate. He wrote about the experience as follows:
“Close to the time that I moved to Bogotá, Sara Millerey González was murdered in the north of Medellín, and queer folk mobilized quickly to denounce the systemic and cultural violence transfolk face both within Colombia and around the world. A local candlelight memorial was my first experience fully surrounded in a public space by other LGBTIQ Colombians as a gay Colombian born and raised in the US, and it remains a powerful introduction to my community here. I saw how my neighbors arrived and pressed into the streets, showing what would be expected of me now that I’m here, along with the direct and deep way how queer Bogotá cares for each other.”
Both in DC and around the world, the HeartWerq team will always be present, learning from, and actively engaged with the LGBTQ+ community.
HeartWerq Welcomes Our New Clinicians
We are happy to say the HeartWerq family is expanding! Please give a warm welcome to the newest clinicians on our team, Kevin G. Linder and Strother Gaines. Kevin and Strother both have immediate availability for individuals and couples. Likewise, several of our other clinicians have current availability; please visit our website to see all of our staff bios, where you can also complete an inquiry form.
Kevin G. Linder is a dedicated Licensed Graduate Social Worker (LGSW) with a rich background in supporting clients through various life challenges. His extensive experience in conflict resolution and mediation, combined with his background in law and social work, allows him to offer a unique perspective and effective strategies for managing complex situations. Kevin brings a compassionate and strengths-based approach to his practice, with a focus on assisting clients with recovery from substance use disorder, coming out, LGBTQ+ issues, professional transitions, and navigating professionally hostile environments.
Kevin employs a range of therapeutic techniques, including problem-solving, reframing, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), to help clients achieve their goals and improve their well-being. Kevin's commitment to fostering an inclusive and respectful environment ensures that all clients feel valued and supported. Whether you're seeking help with personal growth, professional challenges, or navigating difficult transitions, Kevin is here to work with you towards your goals with compassion, empathy, and support.
Strother is a relational therapist who works with individuals, couples, and groups utilizing a narrative therapy approach to help clients explore and reshape their personal stories. He specializes in helping clients navigate their personal and relational challenges while fostering growth, healing, and deeper connection. His narrative therapy approach helps clients reframe their stories and find new paths to personal fulfillment and connection.
His therapeutic approach is rooted in authenticity, empathy, and a deep respect for each person's unique journey. Strother empowers clients to take ownership of their narratives, providing support as they explore new possibilities for connection and self-expression. Whether through one-on-one therapy, couples, or group work, Strother helps individuals embrace unconventional aspects of their lives, using play and joy as vital tools for healing and self-discovery.
With dual Master’s degrees in Social Work (MSW) and Business Administration (MBA), Strother’s work spans the intersection of creativity, therapy, and personal growth. Strother also works frequently as a facilitator and public speaker with corporations, non-profits, and conferences. You can see his TEDx MidAtlantic talk on the power of Immersive Storytelling here. He is dedicated to helping clients unlock their full potential in a world where play is not just for fun but an essential component of well-being and relational health.
HIPS Future Forward
HeartWerq was thrilled to sponsor the April fundraising event for HIPS, DC’s local harm reduction non-profit. The event, hosted at Howard Theatre, was a resounding success, raising over 10 thousand dollars. At HeartWerq we believe in the power and importance of harm reduction approaches. We stock narcan and fentanyl test strips in our office to provide to clients free of charge. We would not be able to do this without the hard work and support of HIPS and we are so proud to be able to support their mission. Learn more about HIPS.
Dungeons and Drag Queens: Adventures in Identity and Growth
HeartWerq’s own Strother Gaines will be presenting a new workshop at Playposium 2025 in Denver this month! In this workshop, participants will dive into the dynamic intersection of identity development and role-playing. By crafting characters in the style of Dungeons & Dragons, participants explore how separating ourselves from our everyday roles—through what is known as self-distancing—can unlock new ways of expressing and understanding our identities. Attendees will engage in thought-provoking activities that help them better understand their own emotional landscape using Daniel Goleman’s emotional intelligence framework. The workshop provides self-evaluation tools that help participants build self-awareness and empathy, all while having fun in a creative and playful space. Wherever you are in your identity development process, this workshop offers a playful, inclusive environment for exploring more complex concepts of identity and unlocking new ways of expressing and understanding yourself.
A Staff Retreat to Remember
For our spring staff social, members of the HeartWerq team in the DC area went axe throwing! We didn’t just aim for bullseyes; we also enjoyed competitive axe throwing games like Battleship, Jewels, and Tic-Tac-Toe. We know the importance of uplifting our teammates and being in fellowship with each other and were overjoyed to have this time and space together.
Follow HeartWerq on Social Media
HeartWerq is now on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Keep up with practice news and events by following us here:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572590021999
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heartwerq/
