you should be picky about who you work with
why should I care that you’re a therapist?
honestly, it’s a great question.
When I was a teenager, I was unknowingly inspired by my very first therapist who helped me tremendously. I was no longer able to work with that therapist when I entered college (this was when Telehealth wasn’t widely available) I proceeded to receive culturally incompetent care. I struggled to explain to counselors the nuances that came from having a bicultural background, or what explaining to them what being “mixed” was. I eventually began to roll my eyes at therapists who thought it was strange that I thought it was deeply distressing that in order to attend graduate school, I’d have to forgo my income- and therefore my health insurance. Seriously? Was that so hard to get?
I knew there were other clients just like me, really… really tired of this. Like, exhausted. …And also horrified by it. That’s why I’m a therapist.
I am proud to be a first generation college graduate from a bicultural background. I am very familiar with systems that didn’t want me to thrive in them (like academia for example) and therefore work with many individuals struggling with systemic oppression. I’ve learned to thrive despite adversity and I want to help you do it too.
about me
I’m a therapist that practices primarily psychoanalytically and relationally. For the most part, my style is relational. Basically what that means is that I think that the relationship in therapy is the treatment almost entirely. Therapy is a container- but eventually, the way that we are in relation to others shows up in our relationship to our therapist. The most important part of the treatment is to confront this with honesty and delicacy.
I specialize in providing therapy for leftists that know their mental health has partially been affected not just from isolated variables but from the state of our cruel capitalist society. I am an anti capitalist therapist. I am anti racist- I care about incorporating these values into my therapy sessions.
I work with a lot of trans, and gender queer individuals coming to terms with their gender identity or even expanding it. I love working with biracial, bicultural, and individuals mixed in ethnicity or those who have struggled with racial trauma and their racial identity. For similar reasons I enjoy doing a lot of self esteem work and enjoy work with clients who struggle with not only excessive dependence but also excessive independence (or hyper individualism)
I’ve learned that I like working with all people- from everywhere on the political spectrum and otherwise. I don’t think life stops being really hard for anyone, even if there are privileges that mitigate hardship. I just think it’s a spectrum of hard, and I think finding someone that gets that is important. I’m a therapist for these individuals.
education
I have my masters degree in mental health counseling from CUNY Baruch College, and a BA in Psychology from SUNY Binghamton. I am currently enrolled in the Psychoanalytic Online Liberatory Education’s year long course. I am being trained in ERP for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder beginning in October. I plan to enroll in the next year or two in formal psychoanalytic training at an institute.
I was a research assistant at the Depression Evaluation Service at Columbia Medical Center for a year, and I have done vocational work with formally incarcerated individuals. I worked for over slightly two years at a therapy practice in NYC that excelled in prioritizing intersectionality and cultural competency in the therapeutic process, and I have experience counseling college students.
I am currently supervised by Andrew Triska, LCSW, OCD specialist and Clinical Director of Triska Psychotherapy in NYC
In my spare time, I am probably reading about psychoanalysis or maybe playing videogames.
Contact Michele
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