Family Therapy in Northampton, MA

*****PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM NOT CURRENTLY ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS****** I am an experienced (20 years) psychotherapist with an intuitive, down to earth style. I specialize in LGBTQIA+ issues, relationships, body image and self-esteem, sex and sexuality, working through trauma and family of origin issues, depression, anxiety, first responders and vicarious trauma, creativity and self-expression, and gender variance and transition. My work is relational and is rooted in an awareness of social and cultural realities. I provide a safe, stable, warm environment in which to explore and address your concerns.

I primarily work with aging and/or disabled adults and caregivers coping with emotional and health care related challenges. Much of my work with clients focuses on adjustment difficulty related to declining health and diminished functional independence. Clients who are caregivers often struggle with managing career and family caregiving roles and also the needed transitions that can emerge in the latter half of life.

Therapy is a collaborative process of challenging patterns that get in the way of living fully and learning how to become more aligned and balanced. Often we act differently from what we feel or know because our histories, for various reasons, have caused our internal resources to shut down. I aim to to help my clients restore, integrate and utilize their inner strengths.

My approach to therapy is not limited to any one direction or technique. I work to stay open to and curious about each person's unfolding story. I listen closely to nuance and I look for underlying patterns, towards understanding what keeps people stuck. I am comfortable working with great adversity and extreme pain.

Are you seeking support for increased self-insight and a more purposeful focus on wellbeing in your own mind and heart and relationships? I have trained in several therapeutic modalities throughout my professional life, including person-centered, gestalt, CBT, psychodynamic, narrative, collaborative and organizational and family systems approaches. In the therapy space, my clients explore clarifying their own beliefs, managing their emotional reactions in relationships, using their voices more effectively in their various roles, and balancing role demands of family, work, and social contexts which we often juggle simultaneously.

Tarn was adopted and raised in Southern Vermont on a farm. She has always loved helping others so the decision to become a therapist came easy. She first attended Community College in Vermont before continuing on to earn a BA in Sociology from Smith College in Northampton, MA. Tarn then attended the Smith College School for Social Work where she earned a Masters in Social Work (MSW). She has since worked in a variety of positions throughout her career which have assisted her in becoming an eclectic therapist with a wealth of knowledge in several facets of social work and life.

**Email is preferred contact method for first time clients** Have you been feeling stuck, unmotivated, anxious or depressed? Do you find that events from the past getting in the way of living in the way you would like to be? My role as a psychotherapist is to help you move through these feelings to reach your goals. I cultivate a supportive environment in which, together we can uncover the root cause of your struggles, help you heal from the past and develop skills to help you successfully move forward.

I work best with people who are willing to be curious about the critical and the fearful inner voices and also the brave and the compassionate voices. My clients come in with the goal of wanting to feel less anxious and less depressed and more secure in their relationships with others. We work in therapy on how to relate to yourself and others differently.

I support people to transform life's challenges into a mosaic of internal wisdom. I passionately embrace the power of loving relationships to help shift from feeling burdened by past wounds to compassionate self-acceptance. I facilitate secure attachment and fulfilling relationships. My natural empathy offers a safe space to heal emotional wounds, ruptured relationships, limiting behaviors, non-supporting beliefs, attachment injuries, trauma, loss, grief. In Internal Family Systems (IFS), we access our Core/Wise Self (intrinsic wholeness) - compassion, confidence, calm, creativity, courage, curiosity, connection. In deep Self-attunement, we gently invite wounded internal parts to come forth and heal.

Thank you for considering my profile. I am licensed both as a Mental Health Counseler and a Marriage and Family Therapist. A guiding belief in my work is an unconditional regard for the individual value of each person. I have a variety of training (Pyschodynamic, cognitive behavioral, relational EFT, EMDR etc.)and use an ecelectic approach. I have been working with children and their families in a varity of settings, for almost 30 years. I have extensive experience working with a variety of diagnosis. I also have a bachelor degree in working with Young Children with Special Needs.

I provide psychotherapy and psychoanalysis to adults in a thoughtful, warm, compassionate atmosphere. I treat a spectrum of issues ranging from the commonly practical to the loftily complex, including trauma, depression, anxiety, self-esteem, grief, loss, sexuality, gender, LGBTQ, family, relationships, marriage, professional, identity, existential and spiritual confusion. My therapeutic approach is rooted in psychoanalytic and contemplative theories of human development, function, and dysfunction. I am dedicated to helping my clients grow through their issues in a safe, comfortable, confidential space.

Are you hoping to practice clear and effective communication with others about your wants, needs, or boundaries? Are you thinking about breaking a pattern or stopping a behavior that no longer serves you? Are you searching for a supportive, collaborative space to reflect on your past, to stay grounded in the present, or to explore what you want for your future?

For the past 30 years, I have been providing mental health services to adolescents, college students, adults, and families. My approach would be to work collaboratively with you focusing on your strengths and your capacity for resilience.

I am a pre-licensed professional who will be working under the supervision of Shannon Sennott at the Center for Psychotherapy and Social Justice. I work with clients from all walks of life, and especially love working with those who are embarking on a new chapter in life, whether it be examining relationships, starting a family, exploring their identity and values, or starting to unpack their past.

I provide support, insight, and practical feedback to help clients effectively address personal life challenges. I integrate complementary methods and techniques to offer a highly personalized approach tailored to each person. With respect and understanding, I work with children, adolescents, adults, families, and couples to help build strengths and attain personal growth. Treatment approaches include insight oriented therapy, psychodynamic, focused short- term intervention, mindfulness, and cognitive behavioral therapy.

A wise therapist once said to me, “life is 10,000 smiles and 10,000 tears.” Such words never rang so true as during these days of loss, fear, and uncertainty due to racial injustice, viral pandemic, and threats to our climate. These events impact us all; although we may not recognize it. Whatever brings you here today, I am here to provide support, compassion, and assistance because life happens…

My mission is to help my clients better understand who they are, what they want from this life, and how to move towards a more integrated self. My alternative style of therapy blends traditional talk therapy with non-traditional therapeutic methods such as nature therapy, mindfulness-based practices, music, art, movement, and nature-based groups. I have found both personally and professionally that nature, creative expression, and physical activity set the stage for healing and growth, and I enjoy incorporating these elements into my therapeutic approach.

I am a queer, pre-licensed professional. In sessions, I combine academic, lived, and clinical experiences to create a client-focused therapeutic environment based on collaboration and community. My training has centered on working with queer and trans adolescents and young adults, as well as partnership work, including monogamous, ENM, and poly relationship constellations. In my clinical work, I believe in the strength of authenticity, connection, warmth, and empathy. I primarily draw on narrative, dialogic, and relational approaches in my work. Anti-oppression, social justice, and intersectional feminist lenses are also central.

I have enjoyed working as a therapist for over 30 years in private, medical, agency, and public school settings. My approach is collaborative and goal focused, including active coaching and monitoring of progress toward desired treatment outcomes. Should you be finding yourself in a place of readiness to access or maintain healthier patterns of emotional responding and related behaviors toward your desired outcomes I welcome you to contact me. My practice is active and often full. While my waiting list will vary in length, I do my best to meet the majority of my clients requests in as time efficient manner as possible.