Richard Brandon-Friedman, PhD, LCSW, LCAC

I am an Assistant Professor in the Indiana University School of Social Work and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Indiana University School of Medicine. I identify as a gay cisgender male and I’ve been a mental health service provider since 2005, and earned my Master of Social Work degree in 2011. My clinical work initially focused primarily on male adolescents, both in home and in the child welfare system, but I have also worked with children as young as 3 years old and with adults. Since 2013, my clinical work has shifted to mostly working with sexual and/or gender minority youth and their families. In my work, I incorporate trauma-informed therapy, familial and system integration, psycho-education, and behavioral/emotional self-management skills. I am one of a small number of WPATH (World Professional Association for Transgender Health)-certified clinicians in Indiana.

I currently work as a social worker affiliated with the Gender Health Program at Riley at IU Health, as the Chair of National Association of Social Worker’s Indiana Chapter’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Committee, and a Councilor on the Council on Social Work Education’s Council on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression. Each year I conduct trainings on working with sexual and gender minorities at state and local levels. My academic interests focus on the sexual development of youth in the foster care system and overall adolescent sexual identity formation.

I currently see youth and their families for therapy services in a private practice located in Greenwood, Indiana in addition to my time with the Riley Gender Health Program. I also provide assessments for letters for gender-affirming care. I am a PhD-level practitioner and can provide letters required by some insurance companies from doctoral-level providers. I also am available to serve as a mentor for other mental health providers seeking to work with sexual and/or gender minorities, with those working within the child welfare system, and with those who are looking to further develop skill sin working with challenging adolescents.