Maxwell Sleep-Frankel, LCSW

Maxwell Sleep-Frankel is a California-based Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with eight years of experience supporting adults through major life transitions, grief, and challenges related to addiction and chronic illness. He works often with older adults and people living with disabilities, helping them navigate loss, changing roles, and the practical and emotional demands that accompany complex life events. Maxwell draws on a person-centered stance while integrating Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to tailor interventions to each individual's needs and values.

His practice addresses a range of concerns including stress, anxiety, addiction, depression, and coping with life changes, with additional focus on aging and geriatric issues, caregiver stress, chronic pain and illness, military and veteran issues, and challenges such as isolation, guilt, and forgiveness. He welcomes military members, veterans, family members, and those working toward recovery from substance use, offering practical strategies and collaborative planning to support lasting change.

Clinically, Maxwell uses approaches that include Client-Centered Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Narrative Therapy, and Trauma-Focused Therapy alongside CBT and ACT. These methods are applied with sensitivity to each client's history and goals, emphasizing workable skills, values-driven choices, and narrative exploration when appropriate. LCSW indicates a licensed clinical social worker, a mental health professional trained to assess and provide psychotherapy.

He completed a B.A. in Philosophy and Psychology with a minor in Cognitive Science at Indiana University and earned a Master of Social Work from the University of Chicago. He is currently enrolled in a Doctor of Social Work program at the University of Alabama. Maxwell approaches therapy as a collaborative process and supports clients as they identify priorities, build resilience, and pursue meaningful change.