Life hands out intricate challenges at every stage. Whether for yourself, a relationship, or your family, therapy offers support, solution-building, and space to be your authentic self through a distinctly human connection.

specialties

on relationship counseling…

Relationship counseling, or relationship therapy, is a form of systemic therapy recognizing the bountiful range of important relationships in your life. Just as “marriage and family therapy” became the more casual and inclusive “couples counseling”, relationship therapy casts the terminology net ever wider.

I work with all kinds of relationship and family systems, and explicitly welcome those practicing ethical non-monogamy, whether this is a new practice or one you have been doing for years.

Whether you’re a relationship anarchist, monogamish, or practicing hierarchy, if you are siloed or kitchen table, my office is a space where your relationship structure is honored. We will work together to structure your sessions to include the right people, whether that means multiple partners in the room, or a few sessions to hash out an issue with a metamour, or even a close friend. Sometimes both.

Practicing traditional monogamy is no lesser choice. You’ve made a decision to commit to this one person. Perhaps you’re ready to build a firm foundation for a life together, or you’re finding yourself struggling. Whatever you’re seeking, I embrace and support that work.

on internalized oppression…

My therapeutic philosophy focuses on intersections of identity messaging, largely based in intersectional feminist theory (created by Kimberlé Crenshaw) and attunement. Internalized oppression looks at different intersections (race, gender, sexuality, religious orientation, etc.) of your identity, whether that part is an agent or target of oppression, and what social rules and regulations you have been told about it.

All of us are shaped by the politics of our time. We learn to oppress ourselves from our families, the media, and general society. To be alive in this world is to be aware of what is touching us. Star City Therapy practices politicized healing; recognizing that systemic oppression fundamentally shapes who we are regardless of whether we hold a marginalized or privileged position in our various intersections.

Seeking liberation from these internalized narratives is a lifelong process. You may never have experienced looking at these types of messaging before, or you may be acutely aware of how the dominant social narratives have affected you, your life, and your relationships. Not every session expressly focuses on that process, but over time, we will carefully examine how the internalized messages might be at play.