Michael Rangel (He/him)

I am a licensed social worker, artist, and Aquarius-sun based in Chicago, IL. As an artist, I prioritize the innate ability to express vulnerabilities and needs through non-verbal, audible, kinesthetic, and visual ways. I strongly believe in the transformative power of art, especially for those who haven't found the language to express themselves yet. This creative process can initiate the journey of healing. I earned my master's degree in social work from Loyola University Chicago, as well as master's degrees in Critical Ethnic Studies and Women and Gender Studies from DePaul University. Starting in the fall of 2023, I will embark on the path towards an ATR at Southwestern College.

My work in the field encompasses a wide range of areas, including LGBTQ+ services, creative youth development, gender/state violence, suicide prevention, art and performance, and program development. I center my focus on the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, carcerality, and queer/trans identities, drawing from my own lived experiences and passion for promoting liberation for queer and trans youth/people of color. My specialization lies in employing creative interventions and strategies to navigate aspects of identity, culture, grief, anxiety, shame, and transition. I see this stage of life as an opportunity to forge deeper connections with ourselves, understand our needs, and envision our desired future.

I employ an expressive arts approach to assist each of my clients in their healing journey, using space, materiality, and time. I tailor my approach to the individual's comfort level and meet them where they are, utilizing a variety of artistic and performance modalities. My training in psycho dynamic therapies and strength-based approaches enables me to incorporate my clients' passions, joys, and interests into the therapeutic process. This approach allows us to reclaim a sense of familiarity and potential in the present moment, leading to positive movement towards the future.

Questions? michael@forrealtherapy.com

INTERVIEW BIO WITH michael rangel

What inspires you artistically/creatively?

I would say what inspires my art is my connection to identity, culture and what it means to care for other people through art. I feel that being creative and an artist is my gift and ability to support others in an organic and exploratory way. Art has the ability to uncover parts of us that often are ignored, undervalued and unnoticed. Growing up, I was so visually and physically over-stimulated all the time, that art and performance became the way I communicated and understood the world around me. For me, art became the way I created relationships with others and it guided how I was able to express my emotions and feelings. Historically, I started as a musician and dancer. Using audio and my body, these things helped ground myself and these skills eventually transferred to more tactile art. That gradual process, as an artist, paralleled my clinical work: using art as my ability to support people in expressing, exploring, and experiencing life, and what I hope guides what they need to get out of our time together.

How do your identities of being an artist and therapist merge?

I would say that it is like a juxtaposition. I thought going into school was beginning this practice of being a therapist first but later found art’s presence in the clinical work began long before school. By starting as an artist, my interest came for being a therapist from that and eventually they merged and guided my passion for using art as a healing practice. I feel that in my therapeutic practice, I notice the imperfection that narrative and verbal therapies have had on marginalized communities. These modalities can imply that people should have the words to know exactly how they feel when instead we have the option to create something through a feeling and through an experience and build on it.

What population do you feel like you would have the most impact working with?

I feel like I’d have the most impact working with folx who find it difficult to begin and have difficulty using narrative therapy. I have empathy in realizing clients come from adversity, in recognizing what it means for them to come to counseling despite that adversity or challenge, stigma and shame that comes from prioritizing their mental health. My identities in being a brown, queer, 2nd generation person can hold weight for clients navigating cultural and political struggles. I can be a clinician with shared identities for folx which could lead to therapeutic work of clear understanding of their own identities, their strengths, and what makes them unique and important.

How do you recognize healing in yourself and others?

I know that I recognize healing when I and others are able to understand and also point out the ways in which we are living joy and experiencing it on our own and with other people. I find that oftentimes when we aren’t in healing, we center the negative things or create a focus on what we are not accomplishing. But when healing is occurring, I notice a difference in what we center – we go around the table and can say, “I woke up today and didn't have a migraine,” or “I was able to talk to this person and my stomach didn't hurt,” and even “I was able to create art,” or, “I have the ability to verbalize it now”. Nonverbally, unconsciously and informally, the engagement in healing through art can directly speak to things that bring us joy and grace and that can be an act of love for ourselves that impacts us directly in our daily living.

What is your universal piece of advice?

I say this so much just because my whole identity is about exploration: Fuck around and find out. I say that from the truest place of love. We as humans are so rooted in fear and stigma. Carrying that stigma and fear consistently keeps us in a place of familiarity and feeling stuck, preventing us from even allowing time and space for newness. When I say that, I truly mean fuck around and find out. Because to do so is to move through the stigma and the fear that may be limiting us from experiencing actual love and healing.