Ethan Schwab, Ph.D., LMFT

I know everyone says this, but I actually never write reviews. Unfortunately, I fall under the category of people who remain silent when they receive stellar service. After about 6 – 8 months of relationship-​saving commendations, I think it’s about time I return the favor in the best way a customer can (aside from obvious cash-​money-​money).
My partner and I are young and have been together for about 10 years. As I mentioned earlier, my man-​friend and I started seeing Dr. Ethan roughly 6 – 8 months ago. I contacted him out of a certain level of desperation, after we had spent $ 1000 on another therapist who frankly should have whatever licenses he’s received taken away. Before Dr. Ethan, I thought very little of therapy treatment and the aforementioned therapist we saw the first time around vindicated my opinion. That being said, my relationship is important to me so I decided to give another therapist a try. I narrowed in on Dr. Ethan because he was closer to my age and specialized in an area most closely related to our issue. I loved that I was able to conduct a FREE interview/​consultation with him, before paying for his services (something the last therapist didn’t allow). Of course we’re not «fixed», but since going we have made leaps and bounds both in our relationship and individually. It goes without saying that deep-​rooted issues take time to sift through and iron out, but we have been overly satisfied with our progress and we have no issue acknowledging that the main reason we are where we currently are is because of the time and effort Dr. Ethan has put into us.
An incredibly short list of favorable components surrounding Dr. Ethan and his services:
He does use highly academic language because he’s highly educated. I appreciate this aspect because I’m paying good money to be advised and listened to by someone who is highly educated, experienced, intelligent, etc. Not by someone who uses basic or simple vocabulary and essentially «dumbs down» his descriptions for my convenience. I consider myself to be plenty capable of understanding his vernacular and would be offended if he spoke in any less of an academic manner. Additionally, my man-​friend and I like to discuss the new words we learned after each session. If you’re a fan of Scrabble or general continuing education, this is invaluable, not to mention fun.
Yes, he does pepper swear words throughout his stories and explanations, but that’s because he’s an ADULT. I actually enjoy his candor because I’m a grown ass fucking woman (see what I did there?) and don’t need to be spoken to as a child. Not only is his language appropriate considering what type of therapy he offers, but is also not even close to being offensive, derogatory, or demeaning toward anyone, especially women. In fact, he is very self-​aware and conscious of the words he uses around gender and sexuality. I’m a self-​proclaimed feminist and gender nonconformist, so I’m quick to snatch someone by their malicious neck if they offend me, and he has yet to do that.
I’ve been so impressed with the way he is able to take a situation of ours that has been a constant battle — one of those arguments you have where it feels like you’re just going in circles, getting nowhere — and somehow is able to alter the way we view each others’ sides with a simple change in verbiage or shift in perception. All of a sudden the sun starts shining, birds start chirping, children start laughing and we’re able to begin a process toward solution. He has a keen ability to read the language and feelings in the room and he is quick to call you out on it. So, if you’re the hyper-​sensitive type, or the type that doesn’t appreciate straightforward, sincere advice delivery, then you may prefer the therapist I saw before Dr. Ethan.
The first few sessions are used for background and data gathering. You talk about family, history, past trauma, your perception of your specific issues, maybe even do separate 1-​on-​1 sessions to gain insight on issues without your partner there to offend or hurt by your bluntness. Of course much of this information is referenced at later points and is worked through continuously during your time as a client. I don’t view this as repetitive or a way to stall time. I view this as a means of chipping away at larger issues. Issues that are imbedded so deeply in your identity that you’re unaware of how they affect your life decisions, sometimes on a daily basis. Issues like this are meant to be worked on over time and will bring up feelings you may want to suppress, but that’s what therapy is for. It’s a safe place to work on yourself and Dr. Ethan provides the ideal environment for that. Also, his couches are very comfy and lighting very pleasant– a detail to not go overlooked when you’re a blubbering mess.
Anyways, this is getting long. Bottom line is I would 100% recommend Dr. Ethan to anyone struggling in their relationship, marriage or even on an individual level.

We interviewed Dr Schwab ahead of time to make sure he had the skills and experience and focus we were interested in. He looks really good on paper and we really wanted it to work out. Over the years we have had many experiences with different therapists for different issues. Sadly, Dr Schwab is by far the worst Therapist we have EVER seen and we feel a bit taken advantage of.
We saw him 6 sessions ($ 900) before painfully calling it quits. We also expressed our concerns in session and out of sessions. All attempts at resolution were extremely dissatisfying. I have waited several months to make sure I am feeling better about it and can give an honest, objective review. I do this out of concern for others who may be wooed by his credentials which look so good. We were there for marital therapy. We love each other and have garden variety problems.
An incredibly short list of key complaints during our time includes the following:
He constantly used overly academic language which heavily obfuscated (or hid) any clarity of what he was trying to communicate. Then he would pepper his excessive academia with vulgar and demeaning statements, slang, and occasional stories I wish I didn’t hear. I found that his vulgarity was particularly offensive and demeaning toward women if you stopped to think about what he said.
He would bait us with inflammatory or derogatory statement about each other. For example, after my husband finished answering a question he asked, he turned to me and said… «Do you think your husband is a pussy?» Me: «Huh… (in short and for so many reasons) no.» This happened on numerous occasions. Extremely destructive behavior in any relationship and in no way therapeutic.
He clearly had a very difficult time recognizing feelings, our feelings, his feelings. He was regularly insensitive and missed tons of opportunities to get involved as a therapist and make a difference. It just seemed he just didn’t know what to do, but he kept stringing us along and wasn’t honest about it. He demonstrated a complete lack of theraputic efficacy and understanding of strategies he said he was experienced in such as Gottman and EFT.
He treated us like research subjects. In fact, after 6 sessions of «data gathering» and several requests to start receiving some sort of therapeutic guidance or help, he repeatedly emphasized both in sessions and in later follow-​up, that our expectations for therapy were too high and we would not be getting to the therapy part anytime soon. Rather, there was still more data gathering to do and that we could expect that it would take an extremely long time to make any progress and our expectations for progress should be super low.
Many times he «normalized» unhealthy behavior. At first, I thought he would swing around later and point out that although normal as a human reaction, not healthy in life or in relationships. Nope, he apparently thought it was normal. He just seemed to have no clue what the impact of said unhealthy behavior was, especially on women.
Not only was this such a devastating loss of time for us but it cost us nearly $ 1000!!! I would never recommend Dr Schwab to anyone. In particular, I would strongly suggest women may not feel safe and strongly recommend you look elsewhere. We did find another therapist and he was effective starting the first DAY and every session since. This goes beyond «Dr Schwab being a bad fit» — which was his claim. He is highly educated but at least at this point, very confused as to what is appropriate and effective therapist behavior. Extremely disappointing. Beware! Be very careful.