About Harper West
Psychotherapy Practice
Harper West, MA, MLP, is a licensed psychotherapist at Great Lakes Psychology Group in Clarkston, Michigan. She provides counseling to help adults and teens improve self-compassion and self‑acceptance, strengthen self-worth, regulate emotions, and develop mindfulness.
Learn more about: Individual, Couples & Family Therapy, including information on specialty areas
Read: My Approach to Therapy
If you are a Michigan resident and would like to schedule an initial appointment or see if your insurance is accepted, call 1‑800‑693‑1916, visit www.GreatLakesPsychologyGroup.com, or fill out our Contact Form.
Harper is an expert on self‑acceptance and self‑compassion
“By teaching myself mindful self-acceptance, I fundamentally changed from being hamstrung by self-doubt and self-criticism to truly being calm and self-assured. In relationships with others I am no longer submissive and conflict-avoiding by default in an effort to gain their approval. I use prompt, forthright, assertive communication to set healthy boundaries. However, I am proudest of the new relationship I have with myself. I can respond with kindness and compassion when I am feeling emotionally distressed. I can be my own secure attachment figure, without having an unhealthy dependence on others for my emotional needs.”
Learn more about Mindful Self-Compassion Classes led by Harper West
Education & Training
Harper graduated from Michigan State University and earned a master’s degree in clinical psychology from the Michigan School of Professional Psychology following a career in corporate marketing communications.
Harper is an expert in mindfulness, self-compassion and meditation. Her advanced training includes:
- Graduate of the first cohort of the 30-week Self-Compassion in Psychotherapy (SCIP) professional training program
- Mindful Self-Compassion core skills training with Kristen Neff, PhD, and Christopher Germer, PhD
- Compassion-Focused Therapy training with Paul Gilbert, PhD
- Trained in transcendental meditation in 1978
- Yoga practitioner since 1996
Harper has completed an externship in Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFCT) as well as one year of additional advanced training in EFCT.
Harper has also completed advanced training in Mindful Self-Compassion and Compassion-Focused Therapy.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appointed Harper to a four-year term on the Michigan Board of Psychology beginning 1/1/2021. In 2023 Harper was elected to a 6-year term on the Rochester Hills Public Library Board of Trustees.
Author
Recently, Harper completed a clinical training book on “Addressing Shame in Child and Family Psychotherapy” which is available as a Free PDF download here.
Harper was invited to contribute a chapter on “Clinical Case Formulation and Intervention Using a Shame-Informed Model” in the book “Practical Alternatives to the Psychiatric Model of Mental Illness: Beyond DSM and ICD Diagnosing” Published (March 2024)
Harper is author of the award-winning book Pack Leader Psychology, which combines simple ideas from the animal world, such as the “fight-or-flight” response, with the latest in social psychology and neuroscience to explain human behavior and relationships.
In 2020 she was the lead editor and a contributor for a Special Edition of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology entitled: “Addressing the Elephant in the Room: Stories of Ethical Activism in the Age of Trump.”
She was invited to contribute to the number-one bestseller “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Professionals Assess a President” and its second edition. She also wrote op-eds and was interviewed on the book.
She has been quoted in the news media and written for numerous publications.
Speaker
Harper West is a speaker and trainer on topics such as self-acceptance, mindfulness, shame, the effect of trauma on anxiety and depression, ADHD, relationships, domestic violence and parenting.
She was asked to present on her Self-Acceptance Psychology concepts at the 2018 annual conference of the International Society of Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry (ISEPP) in Toronto, Canada.