My goal as a counselor is to support my client's personal growth in a safe environment. I enjoy working with all ages, including art therapy and games with elementary age kids; supporting adolescents during their time of growth and exploration; and helping adults to navigate a challenging world. The best part of my job is sitting with people through both challenging and exciting times in their lives. I am honored to get to be with them as they experience breakthroughs in their healing as well as gain skills for future difficulties. My role is as prominent or laid back as my client needs me to be, since this is their journey and I am the passenger. You don’t have to hold big things on your own. I help take off some of the burden that humans carry.

My client focus:

I enjoy working with young kids through art therapy, games, or other low-pressure forms of communication. I can get down to their level and be a trustworthy adult who understands them and supports them as they are quickly growing and developing. I also enjoy working with adolescents and teens as they navigate their own growth and development, changing school and social situations, and confusing emotions and feelings. I am passionate about helping clients work through complex trauma, including medical trauma; women’s health and LGBTQ wellbeing; anxiety, relationships and couples; body image, self-esteem and eating disorders; and general anxiety, depression and ADHD; and general issues that inevitably come up during human development. I work to destigmatize mental health and believe that everyone can benefit from having a compassionate ear to listen to.

My training in both counseling and nutrition puts me in a unique position of providing comprehensive care for issues around eating, body image, and digestive health, while also being able to focus on nutrition-specific or psychology-specific concerns, such as anxiety, depression and other developmental matters.

My therapeutic approach:

I utilize EMDR to release trauma stored in the body and help strengthen adaptive ways of moving through life. I also embrace Internal Family Systems, identifying parts that influence how people show up; Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, helping clients discover and apply their values; Person Centered Therapy, putting clients in the driver's seat of their healing journey; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, helping clients understand and enhance their thinking and behaviors; all under the lens of Feminist and Multicultural Therapies, focusing on empowerment.

I approach nutrition counseling from a holistic, non-diet mindset, helping clients to gain positive relationships with their bodies and with food. I believe food is a powerful tool to nourishing ourselves and feeling our best, so I work with clients on figuring out how to use food to meet their individual nutrition needs. I know that seeing a nutritionist might seem daunting, so I will never tell a client to remove anything from their diet and will work collaboratively to add their current lifestyle and find ways to nourish their bodies while also enjoying the bounty that food brings.

Larissa currently sees clients virtually and in person.