Inspiring Conversations with Andrew Merrell LMFT of Aim Psych and Aim Psych Youth

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Merrell LMFT.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I suppose the story of Aim Psych starts with me. I’ve spent the past decade as a therapist working exclusively with men in Los Angeles. I didn’t get my Masters in Clinical Psychology with this particular plan in mind, it became a kind of current toward this work across my early training years. I spent time running groups in Men’s Central Jail, worked in teen treatment in Malibu, and saw clients in a private practice setting. Over time, there was a convergence of opportunity and affinity with male-centered psychotherapy. Clients referred other clients, fellow clinicians knew me as ‘the guy who worked with guys’, it all just emerged and formed rather naturally over the early years. My clinical experience with many types of men diversified across the those years. Outside of my practice, my life went through other changes too – like when I became a father. A combination of my experiences within my practice and outside of it began to shape and reshape my approach, my clinical voice and my passions within the work.

Aim Psych and Aim Psych Youth were born from the idea that teamwork in therapy doesn’t just exist within the relationship between the client and the clinician, it can also be invaluable in treatment to have teamwork between mental health professionals. I spent years in clinical settings like treatment centers and organizational mental health where teams were the central function of the clinical unit, especially given the acuity of symptoms in those environments. But private practice clinicians most often function on an island. I wanted to bridge that gap between the comprehensive care teams within higher levels of care and private practice; bringing the passion, camaraderie and consultation aspects of team work into a nimble, concierge therapeutic private practice system. At Aim Psych, you can still do traditional 1:1 work with a therapist. But we also offer teamwork where a client can work with two or three of us simultaneously in order to focus aspects of their work on areas of specific emphasis with experts in those areas, instead of working with one generalist therapist — not only does this improve the client’s experience of treatment because its more effective and just as emotionally meaningful as a single therapeutic relationship, but the client also gets to experience the collaborative nature of working with a couple of therapists who are working in harmony to support that client’s unique goals.

At Aim Psych, we love what we do. We love our guys. I feel so grateful to do what I do and to be a part of our clinical family, and to work with the men we do. We are two communities; a community of clients and a community of clinicians. Those families are something I treasure. I can’t imagine doing anything else, with anyone else. I can only hope to feel as alive in our work another decade from now as I am right now.

Aim Psych: www.AimPsych.com
Aim Psych Youth: www.AimPsychYouth.com

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When I was poised to have my first few conversations with some trusted and admired colleagues about forming Aim Psych, I was terrified. My fear was that these great therapists that I thought so highly of might not understand the vision of Aim Psych or might not want to work more closely with me. It was a very young fear that felt quite familiar yet so far away, akin to a my high school self hoping to make new friends and asking ‘am I good enough’. But once I started having the conversations, everything just flowed. One yes became six yes’s, and within a few weeks Aim Psych was born. We are now at over 20 clinicians on the team – LMFTs, LCWs, PhDs, PsyDs, AMFTs, an MD (urology) and a couple coaches.

I suppose maneauvering within the growth and expansion has also been a challenge. For the first 9 months of our launch, I was balancing my own practice and clients with leadership and management of Aim Psych, including new therapist recruitment, wrangling new client inquiries, billing, superbills, and if I’m honest I also wanted to set clear boundaries to be able to enjoy my personal life with being a husband and a father. Many nights in those early months were spent working on my laptop on the couch next to my partner, trying to watch something after the kids were finally asleep, trying to keep my eyes open. Recently, we’ve brought on some new team members specifically to support the internal and external processes of the practice that is beginning to give me some relief from some of those managerial, promotional, coordinator roles. For example, we recently welcomed our new Admissions & Outreach Director Douglas Jewell to the team. Trusting in and empowering the team around me has already had meaningful impact on the entire flow of the practices of Aim Psych and Aim Psych Youth.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Aim Psych and Aim Psych Youth are modern mental health collectives of therapists devoted to working with adult men, young men and teens in Los Angeles. We offer concierge and highly customized care, whether that’s traditional 1:1 therapy, or a team model with multiple providers working in concert to support a client’s goals. We work virtually and in person at our offices all over Los Angeles, and can offer virtual therapy across California. And we can come to you. Our diverse teams includes specialists who focus on specific symptoms (like anxiety, trauma, depression or addiction), modalities (like psychodynamic, CBT, DBT, etc) and frames (individual, couples, family, and mens groups). We can be as comprehensive as an IOP or as singular and nimble as traditional 1:1 therapy.

We are deeply committed to our work, to the community we have created and the clients we serve.

What sets Aim Psych apart is both our mission and our method. We’re not just a group of therapists working in parallel — we’re in active collaboration with one another, supporting each other’s clinical work, sharing insights, and continually evolving our understanding of what men need in therapy today. We’re known for being a space where men can bring the full complexity of their inner lives. Our guys can show up with grief, rage, fear, shame, addiction, anxiety, confusion, depression and they are met with deep attunement and a real bond, not judgment.

We keep one eye on the trajectory of the work. Instead of holding anyone hostage in ongoing therapy that can feel like you’re going in circles, we prioritize clients’ specific goals and rise to meet them with deliberate intention, and a we can keep a clear timeline in focus when a client feels incentivized by a timeline, measurable goals and clear sights set on termination so they can get back out into their lives.

We don’t believe in quick fixes or generic advice. We work with nuance and we are highly adaptable. Whether someone is confronting trauma, questioning identity, navigating fatherhood, or reckoning with disconnection in their relationships, we create space for all of it. We also recognize that masculinity can feel like a double bind tied up in both longing and limitation. We help men disentangle that with clarity and compassion.

If there’s one thing I’d want the public to know, it’s that therapy doesn’t have to feel like a performance or a punishment. It can be a bold, creative, even joyful act of becoming, healing, evolving and releasing. At Aim Psych, we try to meet every client with that spirit.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
At Aim Psych, we define success as helping men build more honest, connected, and intentional lives—starting from the inside out. Success for a client is when he steps out of isolation, speaks the truth of his experience, and begins to show up more fully in his own life and relationships. We know we’re succeeding when a man, once hardened by habit or fear or insecurity or trauma, softens enough to feel deeply, reflect bravely, and risk choosing a new way forward with honesty. Success is when our guys can truly feel alive in their own integrity — that what they think, what they say, what they feel and what they do is all aligned.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.aimpsych.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aimpsych/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aimpsych/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aimpsych

Image Credits
Photographer for portrait of Andrew Merrell LMFT is Amanda Rowan