Therapy for High-Performing Men
Individual therapy for adult men who are successful, capable, and dependable — but shut down, get reactive, disconnect, or rely on coping habits when relationships get hard
Craig Thomas McAdams, MA, LPC, LPCC
Ohio: Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
New Mexico: Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC)
Craig provides:
In-person individual therapy in Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Telehealth individual therapy for clients located in Ohio
Telehealth individual therapy for clients located in New Mexico
Who I work with on this page: Adult men seeking individual therapy
Service format on this page: Individual psychotherapy
Craig also offers couples therapy, but this page is specifically for individual therapy for adult men.
Therapy for High-Performing Men
This page is for adult men who function well in the world but struggle in private.
By high-performing men, I mean men who are generally competent, responsible, and often successful in work, leadership, or caregiving roles — but who struggle with shutdown, defensiveness, disconnection, compulsive coping, or intimacy under emotional pressure.
You may be someone others rely on. You may handle work, responsibility, and performance well. From the outside, your life may look solid.
But when conflict, closeness, disappointment, criticism, or vulnerability shows up, something changes.
You might:
shut down
get irritable or defensive
go emotionally distant
feel flooded but not know how to say what is happening
overwork or over-control instead of staying present
use porn or other coping habits to regulate
struggle to stay open with the person you care about most
You may already understand your pattern intellectually. But insight alone may not have changed what happens in the moment.
This work is for men who want more than self-awareness. It is for men who want real change in how they respond under pressure.
Men often reach out for help with:
emotional shutdown in relationships
anger, irritability, or defensiveness
porn use or other distancing coping strategies
intimacy and vulnerability struggles
shame and relationship disconnection
feeling emotionally numb, unreachable, or guarded
getting hijacked in conflict despite good intentions
the gap between professional competence and relational steadiness
Who This Work Is a Strong Fit For
This may be a strong fit if you are a man who:
performs well professionally but struggles relationally
feels emotionally shut down, disconnected, or hard to reach in close relationships
gets reactive, defensive, or irritable when vulnerable feelings come up
relies on porn, overwork, withdrawal, or other coping strategies that create more distance afterward
wants help with intimacy, shame, emotional regulation, or attachment patterns
is thoughtful and self-aware, but still feels hijacked in the moments that matter most
wants therapy that is direct, deep, grounded, and non-shaming
does not want empty encouragement or surface-level communication tips
wants to understand both what the pattern is and what keeps driving it
This work often fits men who are:
physicians, therapists, attorneys, executives, founders, business owners, and other professionals
highly responsible partners, fathers, or leaders
externally successful but internally guarded, disconnected, or exhausted
motivated for honest work that leads to meaningful change
What Therapy Focuses On
This work is not just about talking through what happened after the fact.
It is about learning to notice the pattern earlier — especially in the moments when you are about to shut down, get reactive, go distant, act out, or lose access to yourself.
Together, we pay attention to:
what shifts in your body before the reaction takes over
what emotions are hard to stay with
what fear, shame, pressure, or vulnerability gets activated
what protective strategy shows up next
how those strategies may have helped you at one time
what those same strategies are costing you now
The goal is not to shame you for how you cope.
The goal is to help you build more awareness, regulation, honesty, and choice — so you can stay more present with yourself and more connected to the people who matter to you.
My Approach
Craig’s approach is direct, relational, somatic, and non-shaming.
He works especially well with men who have spent years being competent, productive, controlled, or reliable, but have had less support in understanding what happens inside them when closeness, conflict, shame, desire, disappointment, or vulnerability show up.
This work is grounded in:
attachment-focused therapy
nervous system regulation
somatic awareness
relational and experiential work
Mindfulness-Based Somatic Emotional Processing
In practice, this means therapy is both reflective and practical.
It is not only about insight. It is also about helping you understand, in real time:
what gets triggered
what your system is trying to protect
how your protective pattern developed
why it keeps repeating
how to respond differently when the stakes feel high
This work often fits men who want therapy that is:
emotionally serious
grounded and practical
deep without being abstract
respectful of male experience without stereotyping men
focused on meaningful change rather than performance in therapy
Credentials & Specialty Focus
Craig Thomas McAdams, MA, LPC, LPCC specializes in working with adult men whose struggles show up less in public performance and more in private relationships — especially shutdown, irritability, disconnection, porn use, shame, and difficulty staying present in conflict or intimacy.
His work is especially relevant for men who seem highly capable in public life but feel less steady in private life, particularly in relationships, attachment, emotional regulation, and vulnerability.
Craig’s style tends to fit men who want a therapist who can be both compassionate and direct, and who understands that many male clients do not need more pressure or more shame. They need a space where honesty, depth, regulation, and real change are possible.
Practical Details
Ohio
License: LPC
Format: In-person in Cleveland Heights or telehealth in Ohio
Payment: Private pay
Fee:$220 per 60-minute session
New Mexico
License: LPCC
Format: Telehealth for clients located in New Mexico
Payment: Mostly private pay
Also accepted:
Presbyterian Commercial Insurance
Presbyterian Medicaid (Turquoise Trail)
This practice is a strong fit for clients who want a private-practice setting and are looking for focused, specialized individual therapy.
This May Not Be the Right Fit
This page may not be the right fit if you are seeking:
therapy for children or adolescents
couples therapy as the primary service for this particular concern
a passive therapy experience with little challenge or direct feedback
therapy that stays only at the level of advice, worksheets, or symptom management
a therapist who will simply agree that someone else is the problem
emergency or crisis care
inpatient or higher-level psychiatric care
detox or primary substance-use treatment
guaranteed outcomes or rapid-result promises
court-ordered evaluations or documentation-focused services
Craig does offer couples therapy, but this page is specifically for men seeking individual therapy focused on their own patterns, regulation, relationships, and internal experience.
If you are in immediate danger or need urgent mental health support, this page is not the right starting point. Please use emergency or crisis services in your area.
Strong Match Indicators
This may be an especially strong fit if you find yourself saying things like:
“I do well at work. My hardest problems show up in my relationship.”
“I shut down when things get emotional.”
“I get defensive fast, then regret how I handled it.”
“I know the pattern. I just can’t stop it when it starts.”
“I use porn, work, or distance to regulate, and it’s costing me.”
“I care deeply, but I don’t always know how to stay present.”
“I want help that is honest and effective, not soft or vague.”
“I’m not looking for blame. I’m looking for change.”
“I want to understand what happens inside me before I lose access to myself.”
“I want to be more steady in intimacy, conflict, and vulnerability.”
Plain-Language Summary
Craig helps adult high-performing men who are successful, responsible, and capable — but who struggle with shutdown, irritability, defensiveness, distance, porn use, shame, or emotional disconnection when relationships get intense.
This work is especially helpful for men who want to understand why they lose access to themselves in certain moments and how to respond differently.
Therapy focuses on helping you:
recognize your pattern earlier
understand what is happening in your body and nervous system
reduce shame
build emotional awareness and regulation
stay more present in conflict and closeness
become more honest, connected, and steady in your relationships
You do not need to be good at therapy language to begin.
You do not need to already know exactly what you feel.
You do need some willingness to slow down, look honestly at what happens, and work toward meaningful change.
Next Step
If you are an adult man who is tired of shutting down, getting reactive, disconnecting, or relying on coping habits that create more distance in your life, this may be a good place to start.
Craig offers individual therapy for men who want help closing the gap between how capable they are in the world and how hard it can be to stay present in love, conflict, intimacy, and vulnerability.
Book directly if you already know you’d like to get started
Reach out here if you have questions about fit, availability, or payment options.