“Dennard is a deeply attuned, empathetic and present therapist. I recommend him especially to anyone wanting to work through trauma, addiction or emotional-regulation challenges.”Stephanie SmileyClinical Social Work/Therapist, LCSW
About Dennard
Meet Dennard McInnis, LCSW-S, LCDC.
I'm Dennard McInnis, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and founder of McInnis Mental Health. I work primarily with men, young adults, and older teenage boys who keep finding themselves in patterns they understand but haven't been able to change.
I don't start by asking what's wrong with you. I want to understand how what you're doing came to make sense. Then we figure out whether it still does.
Approach
How I work
My style is active, curious, and direct. I'm probably less formal in person than a therapy website makes me sound. I take the work seriously, but I don't think every minute of therapy has to feel serious. There's room for humor and ordinary conversation too.
We'll talk. I'll ask questions, tell you what I'm noticing, and challenge you when I think something doesn't add up. If you think I'm wrong, tell me. I don't assume my explanation is right just because I'm the therapist.
I'm curious about people. When somebody does something I don't understand, I want to know what was happening on their end. Often a detail that looked minor at first turns out to change the picture.
It helps to bring in specific things that happened during the week. An argument, something you can't stop thinking about, or a situation you wish you'd handled differently gives us something real to work with.
People rarely change because someone explains their problem more clearly. They change when they do something different and reality gives them new evidence.
Clients
Who I work with
Many of my clients are men and young adults who have spent a lot of time trying to understand themselves. I also work with older teenage boys, generally 16 and up. Some have been in therapy before. They can often explain exactly what they do and even why they do it. Then they go home and do it again.
The problems vary. I see people dealing with anger, anxiety, obsessive thinking, shutting down, and relationship problems. Sometimes they know exactly what the pattern is. The harder part is changing what they do when they're in it.
I especially like working with men who are tired of carrying everything alone and don't have much interest in therapy that feels vague or disconnected from the reason they came in.
What therapy is like →Learn about therapy for men in Austin →
Experience
Professional background
20+ years in human services and behavioral health, including 16+ years of clinical practice.
My work has included juvenile justice, substance use treatment, psychiatric and emergency mental health, hospital social work, clinical supervision, behavioral health quality assurance and utilization management, and private practice.
I am also co-owner of Lakeway Copperleaf Homestead, a small residential senior care home in Lakeway, Texas, where my work includes supporting older adults and families navigating care decisions and major life transitions.
For three years, I also volunteered with a police crisis response team, responding to crime scenes and other emergencies to support victims and families in the immediate aftermath of traumatic events. That work taught me how to stay calm when someone is overwhelmed, pay attention to what is actually happening, and not rush to decide what I think is going on.
M.A., Criminal Justice
University of Louisiana at Monroe, 2006
M.S.S.W.
University of Texas at Austin, 2010
LCSW-S & LCDC
Licensed Clinical Social Worker Supervisor and Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor
EMDR & DBT
Additional clinical training
Professional Endorsements
What colleagues say
These endorsements were provided by professional colleagues.
“Dennard exhibits a profound capacity for understanding a client's unique perceptions, needs, goals and interests. I highly recommend him as an experienced therapist with a deep commitment towards empowering his clients' progress toward their chosen goals.”Justin GardnerLicensed Professional Counselor
“Whether you’re struggling with anxiety, depression, relationship challenges, or life transitions, Dennard offers a safe, supportive space where clients can explore emotional healing through evidence-based methods.”Whitney HaysLicensed Professional Counselor
Professional endorsements originally provided through Psychology Today.
CLIENT PERSPECTIVE
What a former client says
“Dennard has provided counseling for our family for quite a long time. His expertise, compassion, and professionalism have been invaluable. I highly recommend his services.”Miguel C.Public Google review · April 2025 Read the original review on Google →
Origins
Why I became this kind of therapist
I didn't start my career expecting to become a therapist, much less develop a therapy model. I was originally hired as a guard in a juvenile correctional facility. It didn't take long for me to realize I was more interested in understanding the young men behind the behavior than I was in enforcing rules. I eventually moved into counseling and later became a dorm manager.
One thing I learned there was how easy it is to become convinced that you understand why somebody did something. An explanation starts making sense, and pretty soon you stop separating what you know from what you're assuming.
That stayed with me when I moved into clinical work. I also started noticing how much people could understand about themselves without necessarily changing. Someone could give me a very good explanation of a pattern and still be stuck in it.
That still shapes how I work. I try not to claim more than I know. I also don't want therapy to stop once we have a good explanation.
The McInnis Method developed gradually out of that work.
The Framework
The McInnis Method™
Over time, I developed that way of working into the McInnis Method, a structured clinical framework with defined principles, treatment instruments, client materials, and therapist training materials.
It starts with a simple idea: Most of what looks like the problem started as a solution. Patterns don't come from nowhere. The question is whether what once made sense still fits the reality you're living in now.
Explore the McInnis Method →Writing & Scholarship
Writing, Archives & Editorial Work
I also preserve and publish the scholarly work of my father, literature professor John L. McInnis III, whose research focused on H. P. Lovecraft. In 2026, I edited and published The Father's Silence: H. P. Lovecraft and the Shadow of the Father, a collection of his surviving scholarship. I also created and maintain a documented scholarly archive of his work, which is indexed by Texas A&M University Libraries’ Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Database.
My editorial work reflects the same concern with evidence, context, and restraint that shapes the McInnis Method.
Explore the John Lawson McInnis III archive →Start Here
A conversation is a good place to begin.
I see clients in person in Austin and provide telehealth to clients in Texas, Arizona, Florida, and Nevada.
The free consultation gives us a chance to talk briefly about what's going on, what you're looking for from therapy, and whether I seem like someone you'd want to work with.
If it seems like a fit, we'll talk about what comes next. If it doesn't, that's useful to know too.
Schedule a free consultation