Jotham Busfield, LICSW attended Temple University in Philadelphia where he completed his thesis in Therapeutic Space, graduating with a degree in Architecture in 2006.  After two years, he switched fields to clinical social work in order to help people more directly.  After volunteering for one year in Boston with at-risk youth, Jotham attended Boston University to complete the MSW program, graduating in 2013.  After graduating, Jotham co-founded Think-diff Institute in Lexington, MA, co-owning this practice until 2019.  From 2013-2018, Jotham also focused on short-term intensive in-home family therapy with a non-profit in Medford, MA, and held a position at the Department of Veterans Affairs as an intake clinician for their program for homeless Veterans.  In 2019, Jotham co-founded Riser+Tread with Jon Cunha, in order to expand the focus on helping young guys in the Greater Boston area “Step Up + Move Forward."

 

Jotham focuses on using a blend of Coaching+Therapy in his work, with most clients being male in the age range of 8-25 years old.  Jotham has expertise in working with depression, anxiety, social anxiety, OCD, hoarding, and agoraphobia, and uses a blend of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Exposure and Response Prevention Training (ERP), Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Solutions Focused Therapy.  Typical themes of the work include positive habit-forming, confidence and purpose development, motivation building, goal setting, mindfulness, and personal performance.  

 

Jotham also continuously explores ways to highlight how the design of the built environment impacts overall wellness and everyday functioning.  This focus on environment has been integrated into direct work with clients and in 2018 Jotham gave a 90-minute presentation at the bi-annual Massachusetts NASW conference entitled: [person in] Environment: Design and Mental Health.  

 

The ultimate goal of Riser+Tread is to connect with and help as many young guys as possible.  In over 10 years of working with young guys in the Greater Boston area, Jotham continues to be passionate about identifying and solving the issues that most commonly affect this population.