Merrick Drake

My name is Merrick Drake and I am an Associate Psychotherapist. I currently work with a diverse population of patients in a private practice setting in Norwalk and participate in psychoanalytic formation through the Lacan School of Psychoanalysis. I primarily work from a clinical orientation rooted and practically inspired by Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis. I currently have around 2000 hours of my clinical hours completed and I am looking for new opportunities in clinical settings, including intensive psychiatric in-patient/out-patient and private/group practices. If you are looking for a clinician with a bend toward “depth psych," psychoanalysis and a drive to know something more about the unconscious, please contact me.  

As a Pre-Candidate Psychoanalyst with the Lacanian School of Psychoanalysis, I am engaged in a rigorous formation grounded in personal analysis, sustained theoretical study, clinical case presentation, and ongoing control analyses—an orientation that reflects both a commitment to Lacanian transmission and a deep investment in the ethics of analytic desire. Alongside this formation, I practice as an Associate Psychotherapist at Hernandez Counseling & Associates, where I provide trauma-informed, culturally responsive psychotherapy to children, adolescents, adults, and couples, drawing flexibly from Freudian and Lacanian theory under intensive supervision. My clinical development has also been shaped by interdisciplinary forensic work at Metropolitan State Hospital and earlier psychoanalytically oriented training at Aragon & Hernandez Social Services. Across settings, my professional disposition is marked by sustained supervision, interdisciplinary collaboration, and a disciplined yet open-ended commitment to learning through theory, practice, and analytic experience.

My academic path reflects a sustained and evolving commitment to rigorous study across disciplines. Currently a Pre-Candidate Psychoanalyst at the Lacanian School of Psychoanalysis, I continue my analytic formation while building on a Master of Social Work from University of Southern California (summa cum laude, 2024). I further deepened my theoretical engagement through a Certificate in Psychoanalysis at the Global Center for Advanced Studies (2023), following earlier studies in Political Science at California Baptist University and associate-level education at Fullerton College. Together, these academic experiences reflect an enduring passion for learning that bridges the social sciences, clinical practice, and psychoanalytic theory.