Rick Miller, LICSW, Founder & Executive Director
Early in his career, psychotherapist Rick Miller became curious about the relationship between gay men and their mothers, a theme resonating throughout his clinical practice which led him to explore this special relationship in depth. He found that virtually no one was writing about this critical bond.
His goal now is to share what he’s learned through research and people’s stories: that how a mother nurtures her son—giving him support based primarily on his interests, rather than just on his sexual preferences—is key. He now travels around the country interviewing gay men and their mothers, photographing and filming them, and putting together a multicultural montage of relationships. This evolved into the Gay Sons and Mothers nonprofit organization.
Background
Rick is a clinical social worker in private practice in Boston and on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. He has served nationally and internationally on faculties at a number of universities and conferences, including the faculty at Harvard Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Yale Hospital and Health Systems Keynote Speaker for Diversity and Inclusion, Simmons University School of Social Work and faculty member for Esther Perel’s Sessions programs.
He was awarded the 2018 National Association of Social Workers’ Greatest Contribution to Social Work Practice award in recognition of his unique contribution to the body of knowledge that has never previously been studied or published in professional literature.
Most recently, Rick was a speaker at TEDx Provincetown: Hyperlocal, sharing his experiences with Gay Sons and Mothers through his talk, The Mother Factor: Acceptance Works Both Ways.
He has established trainings for MH professionals that facilitate knowledgeable interventions which allow LGBTQ+ populations to feel understood and affirmed, and developed mindfulness techniques specific to gay men which has never been done by anybody else.