About our Counselor

---

At Dynamic Growth Counseling LLC, psychotherapy is guided by the work of Joel A. Makin, MA, LMHC, LCAC, LPC, LPCC, LCMHC, a psychotherapist whose career reflects an uncommon combination of clinical practice, behavioral health leadership, counselor education, and advanced professional training.

Over more than fifteen years in the field, Joel has worked across multiple levels of the behavioral health system, including hospital-based programs, community mental health leadership, graduate-level counselor education, and private psychotherapy practice. This breadth of experience shapes the philosophy of Dynamic Growth Counseling LLC: therapy is approached not as symptom management alone, but as a careful exploration of the emotional and relational patterns that shape a person’s life.

Many therapists spend their careers within a single setting. Joel’s work has moved through several layers of the profession. He has provided direct psychotherapy, supervised clinical teams, helped develop behavioral health programs within hospital systems, and trained graduate counseling students preparing to enter the field. These experiences have provided a wide perspective on how psychological suffering develops and how meaningful change takes place.

Earlier in his career, Joel held leadership responsibilities at the Otis R. Bowen Center, one of Indiana’s major community mental health organizations. In his role as Assistant Director and Licensed Mental Health Counselor, he supervised a team of clinicians, contributed to professional development initiatives for counseling staff, and worked to strengthen engagement with individuals receiving mental health services.

He later served as Program Manager at Parkview Wabash Hospital within the Parkview Behavioral Health Institute, where he helped expand behavioral health services and oversaw outpatient and intensive outpatient programming within a hospital setting. In that role Joel coordinated clinical teams, supervised therapists, and collaborated with hospital leadership to strengthen behavioral health access within the broader medical system.

In addition to clinical and leadership work, Joel has also been involved in the education and training of future counselors. As an Adjunct Professor in graduate counseling programs, he taught courses such as Clinical Psychopathology, Counseling Theories, Group Psychotherapy, and Child Development. His teaching emphasized the integration of psychological theory with real-world clinical practice, and he facilitated intensive experiential group processes designed to help students develop the relational awareness necessary for effective therapy.

Joel’s clinical perspective is shaped by both academic study and experiential training. He holds a Master of Arts in Counseling from Huntington University, completed specialized training in addiction counseling through Indiana Wesleyan University, and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Huntington University.

In addition to academic training, Joel completed advanced experiential psychotherapy training through the Indianapolis Gestalt Institute, where he became a Certified Gestalt Therapist after several years of intensive clinical training. This work emphasized relational awareness, experiential methods, and the careful exploration of emotional processes that shape identity and relationships.

Joel maintains professional licensure across multiple states, including Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Massachusetts. This multi-state licensure allows individuals across several regions to access psychotherapy through secure telehealth services.

Through Dynamic Growth Counseling LLC, Joel now focuses his work on providing depth-oriented psychotherapy for individuals, couples, and families. His approach draws from psychodynamic and relational traditions that emphasize understanding the deeper emotional patterns that organize a person’s experience of life and relationships.

Sessions are conducted through secure telehealth technology, allowing clients to access therapy from anywhere within Joel’s licensed jurisdictions. Appointments are available between 5:00 AM and 3:00 PM, making it possible for professionals and families with demanding schedules to engage in meaningful therapeutic work without disrupting daily responsibilities.

The aim of therapy at Dynamic Growth Counseling LLC is not simply to reduce distress but to help individuals develop a deeper understanding of themselves, their relationships, and the emotional patterns that shape their lives. As these patterns become clearer, people often discover new ways of relating to themselves and others, creating the possibility for lasting psychological change.