Michael Lamerato MS, LPC

Founder and Primary Therapist

Mike has been serving the greater Detroit area as a therapist for nearly 15 years. His passion for helping others traces back to childhood, where curiosity about human behavior and a natural instinct to look out for others shaped who he would become. In adulthood, he first specialized in post-traumatic stress before a pivotal moment at a men's retreat led him to his true calling — men's work. He noticed that despite their differences, men tend to share familiar pain and develop similar coping patterns. Finding little in the way of specialized men's care in Michigan, Mike set out to change that, and it has been his privilege to create spaces where men can heal.

Outside the therapy room, Mike is married to his wife Laura and is dad to two Goldendoodles, Luna and Lucy. He stays active through working out, fly-fishing, camping, backpacking, concerts, and traveling out west. He also has plans to build his own off-grid retreat space on Beaver Island, MI. Mike looks forward to the next 15–20 years of continuing to provide top-level men's care.

Robert Blender, LMSW

Robert Blender, LMSW helps clients return to independent functioning and more satisfying lives through advanced, evidence-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. After graduating from Indiana University School of Social Work, he completed two year-long CBT trainings — including one at the Beck Institute under Drs. Aaron and Judith Beck — experiences that continue to shape his practice. With a background spanning inpatient and outpatient settings, Robert has served as a behavioral health program manager at two large academic hospital systems and a community mental health center, and is the founder and first Director of the Indianapolis Institute for Cognitive Therapy.

Stephen Busscher, LLPC

Stephen Busscher, LLPC is a trauma-informed therapist who works with men navigating anxiety, depression, and major life transitions. He works by integrating EMDR, Internal Family Systems, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and experiential approaches, like walking therapy, to help clients process experiences and build more self-directed lives.

Born in Russia and raised on a farm in Michigan, Stephen grew up between cultures before studying architecture at the University of Michigan. In his twenties, he navigated long periods of depression, which ultimately brought him to therapy and shaped his path to the field. Having reclaimed his own life, he pursued a love of travel across 40 countries and all 50 states. He brings hope and a grounded, cross-cultural perspective to his work with men caught between external expectations and their own needs.