MEET DR. TRISTAN MCBAIN, LPC, LMFT, NCC
COUPLES AND SEX THERAPIST IN GRAND RAPIDS and across Michigan

I’m Tristan. I believe the most important relationship you’ll ever have is with yourself.

You’re here because you’re ready for something better:

More passionate sex, deeper connection, heartfelt intimacy, and an authentic alignment between your voice, your actions, your desires, and your life.

I see you.

A big part of cultivating successful and satisfying intimacy includes knowing that you deserve for all your relationships to be loving and supportive - especially the one you have with yourself.

That’s why therapy with me aims to help you raise relationship and sexual fulfillment through a lens that improves three core areas:

  • The heart of my approach lays a foundation to love and accept your imperfect, amazing self. You’ll explore strategies to show up for you in a new way.

  • Let’s bring your mind and body together so that you can join with the present moment and notice more opportunities for pleasure and gratitude.

  • You’ll learn how to speak assertively so that you can ask for what you want, establish boundaries, and trust the worth of your voice.

As your therapist, my hope is for your relationship with yourself to be stronger by the time our work is finished - regardless of where it was when we began.

WHO I WORK WITH

My clients are curious to know and understand the parts of who they are.

Oftentimes, their personal needs have been put on the back burner. They’re eager to break down the barriers that have prevented them from fully embracing pleasure and connection.

They know that the best rewards lie outside their comfort zone and they’re looking for a therapist who can help them take realistic and attainable steps toward their goals.

With curiosity to learn, motivation to do the work, and even a little bit of humor - they’re ready to embrace a more authentic and empowered life.

My mission is to promote consent, autonomy, communication, and pleasure in healthy and mutually gratifying relationships and advocate for a more sex-informed and sex-positive society.

MY STYLE

Present

I’ll be with you in the here-and-now for all of your triumphs and challenges. You’re not alone on this journey.

Intentional

If I say it, there’s a reason for it. Everything I bring to the table comes with thought and purpose.

Authentic

My promise to you is I will always show up as my true, imperfect self. No pretending.

McBain Counseling & Relationship Services, PLLC
has something for you if…

YOU ARE:

  • Disconnected from your partner

  • Your own worst critic

  • Afflicted by low desire and libido

  • Avoiding conversations about sex and intimacy

YOU WANT TO:

  • Feel sexy in your skin

  • Let go of sexual anxieties and worries

  • Enhance self-awareness and discovery

  • Learn tools to better communicate your boundaries and desires

TRAINING AND EXPERTISE

    • Sexual Health Certificate Program: Sex Therapy & Sexuality Education
      University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 2021

    • PhD, Counselor Education & Supervision
      Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, 2019

    • MA, Counselor Education: Marriage, Couple, & Family Counseling
      Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, 2014

    • Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
      State of Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs

    • Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)
      State of Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs

    • National Certified Counselor (NCC)
      National Board for Certified Counselors

    • Mastering Telehealth & Anxiety Treatment in the Age of Social Distancing
      PESI, 2022

    • Telehealth Certification Training for Mental Health Professionals
      PESI, 2020

    • Gottman Couples Therapy Level 2 Training: Assessment, Intervention, and
      Co-Morbidities, 2017

    • Gottman Couples Therapy Level 1 Training: Bridging the Couple Chasm, 2017

    • American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT)
      2019 - present

    • International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors (IAMFC)
      2017 - present

    • American Counseling Association (ACA)
      2015 - present