Chris Grimes, LCSW-S

Relational, psychodynamic and grounded in mentalizing.

Mentalizing is the capacity to make sense of our own and others’ behavior in terms of feelings, wishes, beliefs and intentions. Under stress, that capacity narrows for all of us. Therapy is a place to slow down, get curious again, and make room for more than one point of view, whether the room holds one person or a whole family.

In practice, that means I ask a lot of questions, I try to stay honest about what I don’t know, and I take it seriously when I get something wrong. Repairing those moments is often where the real work happens.

Teaching and supervising are some of my favorite parts of this work. I’m a Clinical Assistant Professor (voluntary faculty) in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine, where I teach introductory psychotherapy, family therapy and mentalization-based treatment to psychiatry residents and child and adolescent psychiatry fellows.

I also provide board-approved supervision for social workers pursuing the LCSW in Texas. Working alongside clinicians early in their careers keeps me honest about what I know and what I’m still learning.

I earned my Master of Social Work at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. I’m a Certified Group Psychotherapist through the American Group Psychotherapy Association, and I trained in mentalization-based treatment for adolescents and families at the Anna Freud Centre in London.

Over the years I’ve presented workshops at meetings such as the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and NASW Texas, and I contributed two chapters to Adolescent Suicide and Self-Injury: Mentalizing Theory and Treatment (Springer, 2020).