Therapists in Northampton, MA

Humans are wacky, beautiful, awesome, creative, remarkable beings. When we have anchors within and outside of ourselves for safety, we can explore possibilities, feel organized and competent, and speak our minds and hearts. There are many forces that can inhibit our vitality. Sometimes, it can be hard to access feelings of curiosity, interest, motivation, connection, or being ourselves. But under the layers of what gets in our way, each of us is already here, already whole.

Do you ever find yourself facing the same challenges, repeating patterns, or feeling stuck in your life? It’s like there’s a hidden script influencing your actions and emotions, and you can’t quite put your finger on it. This could feel like lack of self confidence, feeling sad or fearful, relationship challenges, or physical pain. I work with couples and individuals to understand how past relationships and events influence the challenges of today. By understanding the “how”, we cultivate a profound self-awareness that empowers you to find new ways of being and feeling that better serve you.

Do you feel overwhelmed with sadness or anxiety? Are you noticing unhelpful patterns that keep re-emerging in your relationships and day-to-day life? Do you feel lonely and disconnected, finding it hard to find joy and satisfaction in the activities of you once enjoyed? Well here you are now, on the search for help to turn things around and feel that you're back in control, back in touch, and making positive changes in your life. You are taking an important step, right here, right now, and together we can see this thing through.

I believe every person has the potential to experience freedom and ease in their body-mind. In our work together, I will help you orient towards cultivating self-awareness and self-compassion. Through this process, we can develop your inherent inner knowing, moving you towards greater alignment in your life. I offer practical tools to clients to address a wide range of issues including clarifying spiritual direction, learning to navigate difficult emotions, and enhancing confidence to pursue goals.

I believe change happens in relationship and that everyone has the potential to heal. I have built my practice working primarily with young adults/adults who wish to engage in a longer term therapeutic alliance with the goal of gaining insight into relational patterns in order to achieve more satisfying relationships at home and work. My style is relational. When working with adolescents and young adults, I make an effort to include parents and caregivers in the treatment process by providing psycho-education, family sessions as needed, as well as appropriate referrals for family members.

We all need therapy at certain times in our lives. Good therapy will help you master the problems you are struggling with. You must feel your therapist understands your goals and can help you achieve them. I believe that people are strongly motivated to master their problems. Most people suffer from false self-blame and self-criticism. I have committed my practice to helping patients to overcoming their guilt, shame & anxiety.

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.

I practice from a trauma informed and relational cultural perspective that places high value on the relationship between therapist and client. Through an authentic, mutual, and collaborative approach I help my clients focus on the history of their relationships and how these relationships have lead to growth and fulfillment and/or isolation and suffering. I view every person as inherently whole and thus aim to lighten the emotional burdens that leave individuals feeling incomplete, broken, and/or dispirited.

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?

My goal is to help you live and act with integrity, increasing ability to respond - while maintaining compassion for the changes that take support, time & practice. My experience lends itself to those touched by abandonment, childhood traumas & addiction - be it those trying to recover from addictions themselves, or those affected by another's. I do not believe in 'fixing' people, but rather dismantling the myths of being broken. Experience shows that our greatest challenges are often unsprouted seeds to the most potent strengths. Our task is to usher that growth.

Now accepting new clients. Thirty years of practice as a psychotherapist have offered me the privilege of coming to understand and be helpful to many people who have presented to me with diverse backgrounds and painful experiences. I would be honored to sit with you, to come to understand and help you find a way through the unique difficulties confronting you today.

The unconscious speaks, but unfortunately, most forms of mainstream treatment today are not listening, focused solely on symptom reduction. While these modalities may provide some short-term relief, they frequently fail over time because they do not address the underlying conflicts that led to the symptom being developed in the first place. In my practice, we will focus on unearthing and impacting the unconscious root causes of problems, not just the surface-level issues. I will help you to speak the unsayable and to interpret your unconscious, made manifest by dreams, slips of the tongue, bungled actions, and symptoms.

Welcome! How can I help you? Let’s work on your relationship with yourself and the challenges you are facing. While you might not have created all of them, I would like to help you manage your reactions, inner critic, core vulnerabilities, sadness/loss, and unhelpful habits. You are deserving of less burden. In therapy, people are often able to develop insights and action plans that transform their capacity to manage the ups and downs of this difficult life. I work within a relational, collaborative framework informed by CBT, DBT, & am strength based. I invite you to come sit on my couch (or meet with me virtually) so we can begin.

I work with adults, couples, families, and adolescents on a wide range of challenges including depression, anxiety, poor self image, relationship issues, trauma, and eating disorders. My approach is engaged and interactive, directly focusing on the difficulties that you are facing. Reconnecting with your true self and healing and strengthening your relationships are key elements of our work together. I am a caring and attentive listener and dedicate myself to helping you achieve optimal contentment and peace of mind. My therapeutic approach includes aspects of cognitive therapy, DBT, mindfulness and Buddhist psychology, narrative therapy, and somatic therapy.

"It is a joy to be hidden, but a disaster not to be found". Donald W. Winnicott

It can be difficult to strip away the influences imposed upon us from an early age. We may struggle to find our true course, or feel stuck living according to external pressures; recognizing every so often, a discord between the head and the heart. I believe that every person is entitled to live an authentic and fulfilling life. The first step is to access a deeper presence where we can feel and begin to sort out the various forces moving through us. What clarity might present itself under such conditions?

My goal is to support people along the journey using a goal-oriented and strengths-based approach. That means creating a safe, secure foundation for us to do our work. From there we set a clear path and check in along the way to ensure that you are meeting your stated goals.

I am a creative, compassionate and competent therapist. Trained as a social worker I work to see people in their full integrity and in their full humanity. I see therapy as a time to be heard, seen and understood. I'm dedicated to a practice of social justice and welcome all people.

I believe that therapy can be a deeply strange, powerful, and intimate experience. As a therapist, I try to cultivate a space that is playful and authentic. Together we can examine longstanding patterns, relationships, and modes of being in the world. First and foremost, I'm committed to creating an environment where you can start to put language to confusing, difficult, and sometimes hard to express feelings and experience. Perhaps even more important than articulating thoughts or ideas about yourself, the hope is that together we can find ways for you to experience a deeper and broader range of feeling.