Chris Klinger, LCSW-C

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Christopher Klinger (please, call me Chris!) received his Master of Social Work from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA.

Prior to his career in mental health, Chris earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Texas at Austin before moving to Baltimore to work with Outward Bound USA, a non-profit organization specializing in wilderness-based experiential education. Chris spent the next decade leading and supervising wilderness-based expeditions for teens, adults, and military veterans.

Chris’ early therapeutic experience began in Los Angeles, working as a school social worker with Compton Unified School District as well as with the West Los Angeles VA working with combat veterans diagnosed with PTSD. He began his career as a Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) therapist after returning to the Baltimore area. He has worked in various Comprehensive DBT programs including Sheppard Pratt’s Mann Residential Treatment Center and School, the Sheppard Pratt Comprehensive Outpatient DBT Program and now through the Bethesda Group-Baltimore. In addition, he has received extensive DBT training in both Comprehensive DBT practices as well as DBT Prolonged Exposure (DBT-PE), a protocol specifically designed to treat PTSD for clients receiving DBT therapy.

As a DBT therapist, Chris’ work focuses on emotion dysregulation and its consequences, including (though not limited to) self-injurious behaviors, substance use, interpersonal difficulties and other impulsive and compulsive behaviors. Sessions with Chris are primarily “here and now”-focused, as he assists patients in understanding the causes and consequences of their behaviors as well as offering skills and strategies for clients to both accept who they are and to make the changes necessary to live the life they want. Moreover, his therapeutic approach focuses on each patient’s system of values as he believes that a life worth living begins with identifying and setting goals that align with our own sense of values and purpose.

Outside of therapy, Chris likes to spend his time with his family, friends, and their dog Logan. His favorite activities include most things outdoors and a few indoor ones too — collecting music, reading/watching genre fiction, DIY projects, etc.