Ivy Kowalski
Hello! I am Ivy and I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Michigan. I am deeply passionate about understanding the human experience and have spent years working with individuals whose resilience and unique beauty are truly inspiring, yet they cannot see this in themselves for many reasons.
I’ve faced challenges and fought through difficult times to be where I am today, and this gives me a unique perspective on resilience and the power of self-determination.
My goal is to help individuals discover their strengths, find their voice, and regain control of their lives so they live with greater confidence, pursue their goals with purpose, and experience deeper fulfillment and connection in their personal relationships and daily experiences.
First session
In our first session together, I do not take a structured approach. My primary goal is to create a sense of safety and comfort through an open conversation about the challenges you’re currently facing. I focus on building trust and ensuring you feel comfortable in the therapeutic space. It’s important to me that you have agency in choosing the therapist you’ll work with, and I want you to feel empowered to acknowledge your own preferences and needs in this process. If you decide that this is a good fit for you, we will then work together to identify your treatment goals and develop a plan to actively address the areas of concern you’ve identified.
Strengths
One of my biggest strengths as a therapist is my ability to really understand what is happening beneath the surface. I tend to pick up on patterns quickly, especially in relationships, attachment, communication, and the ways people protect themselves when they feel hurt, rejected, overwhelmed, or afraid. I’m able to hold a lot of complexity without immediately reducing a situation to who is right or wrong. I also bring a balance of warmth, honesty, and thoughtful challenge into the room. I want clients to feel safe, understood, and respected, but I also believe therapy should help people grow. I’m comfortable asking difficult questions, naming patterns with care, and helping clients look at situations from perspectives they may not have considered before. Humor and authenticity are strengths of mine as well. I try to make therapy feel human and approachable rather than overly clinical or intimidating. At the same time, I’m very intentional about helping clients connect insight to action, whether that means setting boundaries, communicating differently, understanding themselves more deeply, or making changes that better reflect who they want to be.
Ideal clients
My ideal client is someone who is tired of repeating the same patterns and ready to understand themselves on a deeper level. Maybe you’re the person everyone counts on. You’re capable, self-aware, and good at holding it together but underneath that, you may feel anxious, overwhelmed, disconnected, resentful, or unsure of what you actually need. You might struggle with boundaries, people-pleasing, relationship patterns, self-doubt, or the tendency to take responsibility for everyone else’s feelings. You don’t necessarily need someone to tell you what to do. You need a space where you can be honest, make sense of what you’ve been through, recognize the patterns that keep pulling you back in, and start making choices that feel more like you. You’re probably a good fit for me if you want a therapist who is warm and compassionate, (and hilarious), but who also won’t just nod along. I’ll help you look beneath the surface, connect the dots, challenge the stories that are keeping you stuck, and figure out what actually needs to change but it is ultimately up to you to make that change.
Treatment methods
Attachment-based
Attachment-based therapy matters to me because I think so much of what we struggle with as adults makes more sense when we understand what we learned in our early relationships. How did you learn to handle conflict? What happened when you needed comfort? Did you feel like you had to keep the peace, be easy, stay quiet, take care of everyone else, or pretend you were fine? Did closeness feel safe, or did it come with unpredictability, disappointment, or the fear that someone might leave? Those things matter. In therapy, I pay attention to the patterns that show up in your relationships because they often tell us a lot about how you learned to protect yourself. Maybe you pull away when things feel too vulnerable. Maybe you become anxious when someone feels distant. Maybe you over function, people please, or struggle to trust that someone can be upset with you without the whole relationship falling apart. I am less interested in judging those patterns than I am in understanding where they came from and helping you decide whether they still fit the life and relationships you want now. Part of therapy is having a space where you can be honest, imperfect, confused, emotional, frustrated, or unsure and still feel safe and connected. For some people, that experience alone can be incredibly powerful. Ultimately, attachment-based therapy helps us understand not just what you do, but why you do it. It gives you the chance to build relationships that feel safer, more secure, and more like the kind of connection you actually want.
Interpersonal
Interpersonal therapy and attachment-based therapy complement each other really well because both focus on relationships, just from slightly different angles. Attachment-based therapy helps us understand where certain patterns may have started; what you learned about closeness, trust, conflict, rejection, emotional safety, and what you had to do to stay connected to the people who mattered to you. Interpersonal therapy helps us look at how those patterns are showing up in your relationships NOW. We may explore recurring conflict, communication breakdowns, unmet expectations, difficulty setting boundaries, changing roles, grief, disconnection, or the feeling that you are always the one working harder to keep a relationship together. Together, these two approaches help us understand both the “why” and the “what now.” We can make sense of how past relationships shaped you while also paying attention to the patterns playing out in your current relationships and how they are affecting your mood, self-esteem, and overall well-being. The goal is not to blame you or the people in your life. It is to understand the dynamic clearly enough that you have more choices within it, whether that means communicating more directly, setting a boundary, tolerating conflict without assuming the relationship is falling apart, or recognizing when you have been abandoning yourself to keep someone else comfortable. I want clients to leave therapy with a better understanding of themselves in relationships and with the ability to create connections that feel more mutual, honest, and emotionally safe.
Psychodynamic
I often use attachment-based, interpersonal, and psychodynamic therapy together because they help us look at different layers of the same experience. Attachment-based therapy helps us understand how early relationships may have shaped the way you experience trust, closeness, conflict, rejection, and emotional safety. Interpersonal therapy helps us look at how those patterns are showing up in your relationships today. Psychodynamic therapy takes that work a little deeper by helping us explore the thoughts, emotions, defenses, and patterns that may be operating outside of your awareness. Sometimes we know what we are doing, but we do not fully understand why we keep doing it. Together, these approaches help us connect the dots between where a pattern started, what may be driving it underneath the surface, and how it is affecting your relationships and emotional well-being now.
Trauma Informed Care
I've found that trauma-informed care is essential in therapy because it recognizes the widespread impact of trauma on an individual's mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Many individuals seeking therapy have experienced some form of trauma, whether it be from abuse, neglect, violence, loss, or other adverse life experiences. Trauma-informed care ensures that I approach treatment with an understanding of how trauma impacts behavior, emotions, and the ability to trust others. It focuses on helping folks process and heal from their traumatic experiences while building resilience, improving coping strategies, and fostering recovery while being mindful of practices that could inadvertently trigger or re-traumatize the client, such as certain language, topics, or therapeutic techniques. This reduces the risk of harm and supports the healing process.
Strength-Based
Individuals often come to therapy carrying intense feelings of guilt or shame over perceived failures or mistakes. Strength-based therapy recognizes the resilience individuals have already shown simply by seeking the support of a professional. It aims to build on that resilience rather than focusing on weaknesses or shortcomings. This approach shifts the therapeutic focus from what is "wrong" with the client to what is "right," highlighting their past successes, positive traits, and resources that can be used to address current challenges. Strength-based therapy encourages individuals to leverage their strengths to find practical ways to resolve issues and enhance their lives. I love helping clients recognize their own individual beauty they bring to the world!
Location
Virtual sessions
In-person sessions2828 Kraft Ave SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49512, Ste 256
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Licensed in
- MichiganLicense 6401017786