I am a queer, neurodivergent therapist who specializes in working with queer, neurodiverse clients. I provide a compassionate, person-center approach, and I have a focus on authenticity in my sessions while providing a comfortable, affirming, slightly humorous atmosphere for healing. I also have a strong intersectional and social justice orientation, and I'm LGBT+ friendly, gender-affirming, kink-friendly, and my approach to neurodivergence is rooted in lived experience. I also work with people who have experienced childhood abuse and neglect, religious trauma, and systemic oppression. My primary approaches are person-centered, emotion-focused, compassionate, gender-affirming, and psychoeducation-based, but I'm also trained in EMDR for trauma, and Exposure and Response Prevention for OCD.

What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?

The first session with me will be an intake. Here, I will ask questions to better understand you and your experience. The questions will range from presenting concerns to family dynamics. I will also form a treatment plan with you, which you can think of as a general outline of what you're wanting to work on. After this intake session, regular sessions will start. Sessions are typically recurring, so you have the same spot regularly to help with predictability. My sessions usually start with an opener of "How has this week been?" or "What's on the agenda today?" and then we go from there. Some people come to sessions with an idea of what to talk about, some don't, and either way is fine! I'll ask questions to help the ball roll, and soon there's a comfortable flow.

Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.

Being a queer and neurodiverse person, I understand what a big difference it makes knowing that your therapist has been there, and that they're a genuine safe place. I also try not to mask in sessions - if I'm helping people navigate living authentically, I should practice what I preach. This usually makes people feel more comfortable with me, and gives them permission to be themselves. In that same vein, I would never ask my clients to do something I wouldn't do myself, nor would I suggest coping strategies that I know would be ineffective for neurodivergence. I understand what exactly being neurodiverse means and the implications of that. As a person, I'm also generally very gentle. I don't have a harsh or judgmental personality, and I embrace softness. I also know what it's like to dive deep into the depths of painful territory, and so I'm really good at holding the torch to light the way and taking each step with you.

About Ren Elliott