Tyler Suran, MA, APCC

Faculty Biography

Tyler Suran, MA, APCC (he/him)

Doctoral Candidate in Counselor Education and Supervision, The Chicago School

Tyler Suran is a Senior Clinician and doctoral candidate who integrates an intersectional, affirmative framework across clinical practice, supervision, and academic research. As a first-generation, neurodivergent, and queer practitioner, Tyler’s lived identity directly grounds his commitment to decolonizing behavioral healthcare and practicing from a social justice lens. He is a California-registered Associate Professional Clinical Counselor and a Certified Drug and Alcohol Counselor, currently completing his PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision at The Chicago School alongside advanced sex therapy certification at CIIS. Grounded in Relational-Cultural Theory, his clinical framework bridges attachment-based lenses with CBT and DBT, allowing him to model culturally responsive care and provide specialized advocacy for LGBTQIA+, trans, polyamorous, and kink/BDSM populations.

Tyler’s approach to future teaching and supervision is heavily informed by his current frontline leadership and deep operational expertise across the mental health continuum. His background includes designing and directing high-acuity PHP/IOP tracks and executing rapid emergency management—including transitioning a program to virtual care within 24 hours during the 2025 LA wildfires to preserve client retention and continuity of care. This acute crisis management experience is paired with an international public health background spanning Malaysia, Thailand, South Africa, and Tanzania, as well as dual-diagnosis clinical work at the Skid Row Mental Health Wellness Center with The People Concern. By anchoring his academic profile in these raw, real-time realities of harm-reduction and street crisis intervention, Tyler provides a concrete roadmap for working effectively alongside deeply marginalized communities.

As a researcher and supervisor-in-training, Tyler rejects performative jargon in favor of a transparent pedagogy that prioritizes clinician well-being and systemic sustainability. He emphasizes to future counselors that strict administrative and documentation accountability must coexist with operational viability to protect both vulnerable clients and the healthcare workforce from burnout. Reflecting this dedication to sustaining the profession, Tyler’s doctoral dissertation focuses on specialized supervision modalities designed to mitigate minority burnout among LGBTQIA+ associate therapists. Ultimately, his concurrent roles as a frontline clinician, dual-credentialed counselor, and doctoral researcher are dedicated to preparing him to train the next generation of therapists to navigate complex healthcare systems and claim their professional voices.