About SFCPER
Matthew B. Sacks, Ph.D.
I am a compassionately direct therapist. I will treat you with kindness, respect, honesty, and a belief that you have the capacity for change. Change is difficult. But change is possible. It requires consistent work and a near constant desire to learn a more effective way of being in the world. Having an inclination to look within yourself and be open to feedback is the place to inhabit, if you want to work with us at SFCPER. My direct, pragmatically stoic approach to therapy is based upon the assumption that everyone has an inner strength that can be tapped into and utilized to help build greater Psychological Equanimity & Resilience.
With over 20 years in the field of psychology, Dr. Sacks is a well-trained, experienced clinical psychologist with an expertise in stress management and performance enhancement. His wide range of experience includes working for the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and for atai Life Sciences, the largest psychedelics company globally.
Dr. Sacks earned his Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from one of the highest ranking graduate programs in the country, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (U.S. News & World Report, 2020*). He completed his predoctoral clinical internship at the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Health Care System, a provider of state-of-the-art treatment for PTSD and one of the top research programs within the national VA system (VA, 2020).
Dr. Sacks has served as a Mental Performance Coach at the Center for Athletic Performance Enhancement (CAPE) since 2010, where he currently works with professional, collegiate, and amateur athletes on performance improvement.
In addition to his work at seven different VA locations, Dr. Sacks has extensive experience within the United States Department of Defense (DoD). At Joint Base Andrews (JBA), Dr. Sacks served as the Deputy Chief of the Resiliency Element, was a member of the Traumatic Stress Response Team, and provided support to members of specialized units such as Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD), Presidential Support Program (PSP), 316th Security Forces Group, and the 316th Operations Group. Later, Dr. Sacks joined the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP), attached to the DoD’s Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. At CDP, Dr. Sacks spent four years travelling the country conducting Evidenced-Based Psychotherapy trainings for DoD behavioral health providers as well as for civilians who work with military clients. His roles at CDP included: Assistant Director of Strategic Growth, Assistant Director of Online Programs, and Deployment Behavioral Health Psychologist.
Currently, Dr. Sacks consults with mental health organizations, companies in the psychedelics industry and serves as the Mental Health Advisor for the Florida Panthers Warriors, a non-profit organization that supports military veterans to play hockey in a supportive, therapeutic environment.
SFCPER MISSION
Our Mission is to help individuals and teams improve their overall well-being and experience less suffering by teaching them stress reduction techniques, emotion regulation strategies, mindfulness, and essential Cognitive-Behavioral skills.
Achieving higher levels of Psychological Equanimity and Resilience is the ‘first principles’ mission of our work with every individual and team.