Hi, I’m Kelly!
I’m a therapist who believes you are not what happened to you, you are not your ‘diagnosis’ (we can talk about how diagnoses are both helpful and sometimes really limiting) and that you are not broken. Healing starts with understanding —not shame or judgement. I am queer-affirming, gender-affirming and will meet you where you are.
A lot of my clients say that I’m “real,” and that is my most prized compliment as a therapist. I’ve struggled with some of the very same things you might be struggling with, and am someone who doesn’t have all the answers but will help you process and get to a place of understanding about yourself and your experiences so that you can let go; find stability and peace. I aim for sessions to feel validating, engaging, and geared toward real change.
In the spirit of relationship building, you’ll find some bullet points about my personal and career history below to address some of the normal, very human questions you may have about me. While your sessions will never be about me, I think it’s normal to want to know a little about the person who you are entrusting your vulnerability with on such a deep level.
ABOUT ME
- I have experienced significant childhood trauma and my own struggles with depression and anxiety, and I also have experience supporting people through different stages of recovery from addiction.
- I believe there is tremendous healing available to us right at our doorsteps in animals and nature and I seek to help you have access to that through sessions at my partner therapy farm in Purcellville, VA.
- I was born in New Jersey and have lived in Japan, New York and Los Angeles cities. I’ve also traveled extensively throughout Asia and other parts of the world.
- I have been living in the Virginia/Maryland area since 2018.
- I’m married to a black woman, which makes me extra aware of my yt privilege(s) and I am committed to decolonizing myself and the field of therapy.
ABOUT MY CAREER
- My undergraduate degrees are in Japanese (East Asian studies) and Anthropology from the University of Maryland, College Park.
- I have also studied and have certificates in Non-Profit Management, Zoology, Environmental Education and Early Childhood Education.
- I was the Executive Director of an environmental education organization that served children with outdoor, live animal programs. It was that work that led me to get a degree in Counseling Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, CA and have been practicing therapy since 2018. (I call psychotherapy my encore career!)