Grady Fort

Avigayil K. _{on Yelp}

Aug 9th, 2017

I have seen Grady's work with both couples and individuals. I trust him as a practitioner and as a person and I refer clients to him regularly. Our conversations have the effect of un-shrouding what is hard to understand. He brings out the best in me and I see him do the same with his clients.

Yi Z. _{on Yelp}

Feb 22nd, 2018

Bear with me, as this is about to get very personal and very long. I've been dating in the Bay Area for the past 3 years with limited success. Although I've met many people and had fun, it never seemed to materialize into anything.I was too busy out there dating and neglected to recognize that the one for me had been by my side all along. It's not that we were always platonic friends and in fact, we had a few false starts but our fear and pride got in the way of us expressing what we wanted. I hurt him with my short attention span and he never understood that I kept dating others because what he gave didn't align with what I needed.As we formed our negative opinions of each other based on our independent observations, we withdrew from each other further. We told ourselves stories of how the other person didn't care based on all the "evidence" we had collected. It was only after I had closed what seemed like the final door on this relationship that I finally learned the power of accountability and vulnerability.It was then that I knew someone had to speak up and for the first time, I opened up and cried openly in his arms. At first, he was stiff and seemed to reaffirm that he couldn't emote or connect with me. Yet slowly his posture softened, his tone warmed, and what I found was a man who cared so deeply and had been suffering alone. I finally saw how I made him lose trust in me and why we had never gotten anywhere before.By opening up, we finally started enjoying each other's company in a simple relaxed way that was, at the time, foreign to us. While it was great in the moment, the dark cloud carrying all of our baggage constantly hovered over our joy. At that point, I realized he was a keeper but it seemed too late to salvage this. Our mood would swing from one side of the pendulum to the other, often instigated by the smallest thing that would get us back to interrogating each other about the past.I'm glad that we didn't try to bandaid the situation but opening the wounds over and over again was painful and it seemed to never end. I knew we had made significant progress just by ourselves and we were on the right track. But we were also aware that we were not starting from zero; we were trying to climb out of of a deep, dark hole. We could use any help we could get. It was then that I found Grady on Yelp and made an appointment for a phone consultation. My first impression of him was that he was understanding and empathetic and at the same time, offered direct suggestions.After the phone consultation, we scheduled an in-person session with him, in which we hashed out many of the issues between us. Although at first it felt similar to the times we tried to discuss these by ourselves, I was relieved to have Grady there as a third party picking up on the key points. We were both calling out to each other but since we were doing it simultaneously, we were too caught up in our own needs to be able to listen effectively to the other person. Grady slowed us down when moments got heated and helped us hear what the other person needed. It seems so simple now but I don't know how many hours of us arguing it would have taken if we had tried to reach the same place without him.Grady isn't a magician by any means and he can only help couples who have a strong desire to help themselves. We only went to a few sessions with him and even at the end, I wasn't sure if it was enough to salvage our relationship.But throughout this journey, we've built tremendous respect for each other and finally see how important we are to one another. I have never had to work so hard in a relationship and it has absolutely paid off. The way we are today is something I couldn't have imagined possible even 6 months ago. It feels as if the universe has aligned and we are finally comfortable and trusting enough of each other to embrace the love. The shift started when we made the choice to change and I want to thank Grady for playing an important part in making what we have today, a reality.

Joey L. _{on Yelp}

Jun 18th, 2017

My wife and I are new to the area and wanted to start some counseling to deal with a few stressors that had been bothering us both. Grady gave us a free consult, which was quite helpful in deciding if he was the right fit. My wife and I both enjoyed his approach to the counseling process. He was thoughtful, kind, and very interested in supporting us and our relationship. He was also very prompt and professional- something I greatly appreciate. His background in working with couples came through strongly during our session. He was clearly very supportive of us both as a couple, and really helped us find our way through some of the challenges we are facing. Being someone that's open to working through issues, I still find it hard to be so vulnerable. But with Grady's support and efforts, I felt it was easier to open up. I highly recommend him as a therapist.

Katherine D. _{on Yelp}

Apr 26th, 2017

I had been to couples counseling in a past relationship but since moving to this area I didn't really know where to start.  It was nice that Grady gave us a free couples consult so that we could meet each other and see how it felt.  I think that it helped that Grady was a male when working with my husband, as he was already reluctant enough as it was about going and airing out our dirty laundry. Grady was very helpful, personable, and we both left feeling better for having done it.I recommend Grady for anyone looking for a  very good counselor in general.  He is someone that is very relatable and for that I respect him for it.  I know he works a lot with couples, which makes sense as I think he has the temperament for it,  but I also know him for his work with grief and helping people with their relationships, and identity issues.  He is someone that I hold in high regard, and respect his work and dedication to helping others through tough spots in their lives.

Dan L. _{on Yelp}

Apr 19th, 2017

I contacted Grady because my husband and I were having an endless argument over this one thing and we could not get out of the loop.  I was really frustrated and saddened by how we were arguing.  It was eroding trust and I wanted it to stop. Grady helped us see our patterns and more importantly what was behind them so that we could have empathy.  I thought we were going there to learn how to argue but what happened was we became instantly closer, more attracted and more loving.  It was like magic. Seriously. Grady is smart and caring and keeps it light while at the same time requiring you to speak your truth.  He obviously cares deeply about his patients and is smart and I am so very grateful that we found him (on YELP by the way). Grady had a profound impact on the trajectory of our relationship. If you have something you want to work on that it just bugging you and you wish you could change, go see Grady!