Making an Impact: Matt Slavsky
By Chuck Cascio, author and former South Lakes teacher
For nearly 30 years, Matt Slavsky has worked as a private therapist with Family Perspectives, LLC, in Phoenix, Ariz., and as a crisis therapist for hospitals in and around the Phoenix Valley. He works with couples seeking therapy as well as individuals of all ages who are experiencing depression and anxiety. In addition to his ongoing work, Matt says he seeks to expand the number of “psychological evaluations for nonresident immigrants to the U.S. who have a spouse and/or children who would suffer extreme hardship if they were deported to their country of origin. In many cases, they have been working and supporting their family, but they are at risk for deportation, leaving their family without financial or emotional means to support themselves.”
Matt’s passion for his work has deep personal roots. “I was diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome at age 13,” he says, “and I have never completely overcome it, though the symptoms reduced at around age 19. Now they are nominal, but they are still there.” During his ongoing struggles with Tourette’s, he says, “I have become familiar with a plethora of comorbid disorders and mental health struggles other people experience.”
When he was a student at South Lakes High School in the late 1980s, Matt remembers “hearing about a couple of people who had committed suicide, who had substance abuse issues, and others with behavioral health and other mental health issues.” Matt experienced a period of depression of his own in 11th grade, which resulted in him dropping out of school. He had not been attending school consistently, he says, and “at one point I dropped out but decided to return once I started to improve. However, I had to repeat my junior year. I wound up graduating in 1990 instead of 1989, the year I was supposed to graduate.”
As Matt dealt with his own experiences, he became acutely aware of what he was seeing others experience and what the field of mental health needed to address more deeply and quickly.
“At a young age I recall feeling like mental health issues among adolescents were minimized, and support was unavailable unless your own family addressed it, or you had behavioral issues that were disruptive,” he says. “If a student kept to themselves, regardless of what they may have been experiencing internally, unless they sought help, they were pretty much left to fend for themselves.”
Matt’s personal awareness and observations stimulated an intense desire to learn more about how people cope with mental illness so they can move on with their lives in a positive way, as he did. A psychology class at SLHS was particularly impactful: “I found it fascinating and it intrigued me to pursue a career of helping others, particularly those who did not have a voice.”
At George Mason University, he majored in psychology, earned his master’s in social work at Arizona State University and then became a licensed clinical social worker.
In his professional role, Matt works with patients to help them deal with their issues in ways that do not rely on “psychotropic medication, which I think should not be used until other methods are explored, including sunlight, direct contact with peers (not only online!), physical movement or exercise, nutrition, and proper sleep.”
He is pleased that “mental health treatment has much less of a stigma these days, and I have the perception that it is encouraged instead of individuals being made to feel that they are considered ‘less than’ for seeking it. Of course, the stigma still exists but at a much lower level. Also, with more celebrities being willing to state their mental health issues, it is becoming much more accepted.”
Matt, his parents and sister lived in a couple of different Reston clusters before settling in Stratton Woods in 1984. He attended Terraset Elementary School, where “I was excited and fascinated by an underground school powered in some part by solar panels!” He then went to Langston Hughes Intermediate School, where he engaged in underground activity of his own:
“I had a pretty good scam going, buying bags of Blow Pops and gum at Kmart and then selling them at school for a quarter apiece. Shhhh, don’t let the authorities know!”
Matt cites his parents, Steve and Paula Slavsky, friends and members of Reston’s Jewish community “as being direct and indirect influences in support of my progress and achievements. Without these people I know that I would not be the man I am today. I am extremely grateful for the support I had, and especially my parents for helping me navigate the rough times and being hopeful for a better day.”
Though Matt and his wife, Tatiana, live in Arizona, he maintains his love for Reston, saying, “I will always call Reston home.”
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