Family Therapy in Northampton, MA

Asking for help is not easy, and finding the right therapist can be even more difficult. I am passionate about helping individuals and families move towards a path of well-being and health. In a safe and caring environment, I work with clients who struggle with a range of issues: anxiety, trauma, depression, relationship difficulties, separation and loss, low self-esteem, lack of motivation, family conflict and parenting. My work is trauma informed and strengths-based. It is important to me that clients feel heard and valued.

I am a psychologist with over twenty-five years of experience who specializes in helping people who identify as highly sensitive or anxious. You may have received feedback from others that your feelings are “wrong” or “too much.” Such messages frequently result in experiencing harsh self-criticism and shame. I help my clients embrace the many gifts of being sensitive while also navigating a world that often feels harsh and invalidating. I work with adults of diverse ages and backgrounds, providing a warm, connecting, and honest space for you to access your essential strengths and overcome barriers to living a rich, meaningful life.

For the past 30 years I have enjoyed my work as a psychotherapist, art therapist and group psychotherapist. My practice is in Northampton, MA. I have available hours on Fridays and weekends. I facilitate two family support groups later in the afternoon and evening each week (scroll down to the bottom of this page to learn more.) In addition to my private practice, my counseling work takes me out to the Berkshires, to the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge, MA. My primary treatment objective is to support families and individual’s to discover their personal motivation to change.

I have enjoyed working as a therapist for over 30 years in private, medical, agency, and public school settings. My approach is collaborative and goal focused, including active coaching and monitoring of progress toward desired treatment outcomes. Should you be finding yourself in a place of readiness to access or maintain healthier patterns of emotional responding and related behaviors toward your desired outcomes I welcome you to contact me. My practice is active and often full. While my waiting list will vary in length, I do my best to meet the majority of my clients requests in as time efficient manner as possible.

To begin, I would like to share a reading that resonates with me personally and professionally. In "Decolonizing Therapy," Dr. Jennifer Mullan offers, "We are demanding trauma-responsive, culturally full, transparent, anti-carceral, non-ableist care. We all deserve this. Our children deserve this. Our elders deserve this. Future generations deserve this. This book is my offering for more cross-movement, intergenerational, neurodivergent, gender-queer, ancestral, abolition-centered, embodied therapeutic work that actually works, and does not devour." <3

Hello and thanks for visiting! I've been a clinical social worker and counselor since 2010 and I provide therapy to individual adults, adolescents, couples (including folks in poly relationships), and family dyads. I work effectively with a broad range of people and concerns - whether you and I are similar in some ways or quite different! In case it helps, I do have particular experience working with queer and trans folks, Asian folks, people of color more broadly, and people dealing with abusive or unjust dynamics at school or work.

I am a licensed psychologist who specializes in perinatal mental health and parenting support. Juggling all the needs of self, family, work, & daily life can result in an overwhelming loss of control and losing one’s “self,” which takes a toll on your wellbeing. Whether you’re trying to find your new normal after the newest addition to your family, experiencing postpartum depression or anxiety, trying to process a traumatic birth or NICU experience, or struggling to find parenting methods that work for your child/family, I can help. Raising children takes a village; I can be part of yours.

I'm on maternity leave until January 2025. Please reach out for openings at that time. For children, behavior is a way to communicate needs. When complex emotions arise through challenging behaviors, parents may be left feeling unsure how to respond. Does your child seem overly anxious? Are they highly distressed when separated from you? Maybe they've experienced a significant loss or you’d like to prepare them for a family life change. Are you an adoptive or foster family wanting help with bonding and building secure attachment? Do you hope to gain clearer insight into your child’s needs and support them through a stressful time?

I work with adults, couples, families, and adolescents on a wide range of challenges including depression, anxiety, poor self image, relationship issues, trauma, and eating disorders. My approach is engaged and interactive, directly focusing on the difficulties that you are facing. Reconnecting with your true self and healing and strengthening your relationships are key elements of our work together. I am a caring and attentive listener and dedicate myself to helping you achieve optimal contentment and peace of mind. My therapeutic approach includes aspects of cognitive therapy, DBT, mindfulness and Buddhist psychology, narrative therapy, and somatic therapy.

I like to work relationally, which means that we, together, work on whatever challenges present themselves for you at this time in your life. It is my belief that each of us holds the answers to our own life challenges within ourselves. Therapy can create a supportive framework that can help clear debris from life's path so that one can see the path more clearly. Adult life is often connected to our history, and the culture/environments we grew up in. Therapy can be a place to understand the threads between past and present. I often work with folks who are becoming parents. This phase is complex and can stir the silt of our story.

I support people to transform life's challenges into a mosaic of internal wisdom. I passionately embrace the power of loving relationships to help shift from feeling burdened by past wounds to compassionate self-acceptance. I facilitate secure attachment and fulfilling relationships. My natural empathy offers a safe space to heal emotional wounds, ruptured relationships, limiting behaviors, non-supporting beliefs, attachment injuries, trauma, loss, grief. In Internal Family Systems (IFS), we access our Core/Wise Self (intrinsic wholeness) - compassion, confidence, calm, creativity, courage, curiosity, connection. In deep Self-attunement, we gently invite wounded internal parts to come forth and heal.

A wise therapist once said to me, “life is 10,000 smiles and 10,000 tears.” Such words never rang so true as during these days of loss, fear, and uncertainty due to racial injustice, viral pandemic, and threats to our climate. These events impact us all; although we may not recognize it. Whatever brings you here today, I am here to provide support, compassion, and assistance because life happens…

Currently accepting new clients! (8/14/24) I help women of color and LGBTQ+ clients dealing with depression and anxiety who want to learn to prioritize themselves– without guilt. My clients are caring people, but only thinking about everyone else has left them tired. They're ready to slow down, treat themselves with kindness, and figure out what's important to them. Often, they also want to learn to be vulnerable so they can feel closer to people. When we begin our work together, they know there's something missing in their lives but they're overwhelmed and don't know how to start making changes.

I primarily work with aging and/or disabled adults and caregivers coping with emotional and health care related challenges. Much of my work with clients focuses on adjustment difficulty related to declining health and diminished functional independence. Clients who are caregivers often struggle with managing career and family caregiving roles and also the needed transitions that can emerge in the latter half of life.

I work with clients from all walks of life, and especially love working with those who are embarking on a new chapter in life, whether it be examining relationships, starting a family, exploring their identity and values, or starting to unpack their past. I am a pre-licensed professional who will be working under the supervision of Shannon Sennott at the Center for Psychotherapy and Social Justice.

Are you looking for an open-minded, non-judgmental therapist to help you address problems, build confidence, and get to know yourself? Are you struggling with life, relationships, creative pursuits, or coming to terms with your past? Seeking therapy requires courage, and it is with respect, curiosity and dedication that I approach this work.

I have a general psychotherapy practice for individuals, couples or families ages 17+. My approach is to use basic talk therapy as a way of gaining insight, strengthening the self and making positive changes in thinking and behavior. As a generalist, I am open to all mental health issues. However, my specialty areas include major mental illness and psychotic disorders, with help for both the client and family and couples work.

Struggling with anxiety about a stressful world and uncertain future? There’s a voice in your head that is desperate to do it all perfectly, to stay four steps ahead, not make any mistakes. You have a persistent feeling of "not good enough" that follows you from work to relationships to family. Your mind races with thoughts about what you could have done better or how you disappointed someone. You feel paralyzed, self-critical, and overwhelmed. Yes, it's partly due to the state of the world right now. But to be honest, you've felt this way a long time.

I believe change happens in relationship and that everyone has the potential to heal. I have built my practice working primarily with young adults/adults who wish to engage in a longer term therapeutic alliance with the goal of gaining insight into relational patterns in order to achieve more satisfying relationships at home and work. My style is relational. When working with adolescents and young adults, I make an effort to include parents and caregivers in the treatment process by providing psycho-education, family sessions as needed, as well as appropriate referrals for family members.