Therapists in South Burlington, VT

I approach the therapeutic relationship with authenticity, warmth, humor and non-judgment while meeting clients where they are. My approach is collaborative and curious, placing you as the expert of your own life while offering insight, compassionate support and holding space for vulnerability throughout the healing process. I believe all struggles in life to be valid and worthy of acceptance and empathy and I believe in the human capacity for resiliency. I place strong emphasis on building a trusting and safe client-therapist alliance and I strive to empower my clients while working together toward goals and desired life changes.

As a naval spouse of 16 years, and the mother of two children with mental health and developmental needs, J. Heather Fitzpatrick, LICSW, RPT-S, knows how difficult it can be to cope with adversity. With twenty-two years of clinical experience working with individuals, children and military service members across the range of mental health diagnoses, Heather is compassionate, committed, and well versed in guiding you to achieve your personal goals. Maintaining high esteem towards one’s natural tendency to achieve personal growth, Heather considers the clinical relationship sacrosanct and values a strength based perspective.

It may be challenging to seek help with life's stressors. As a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, possessing numerous years of multi-discipline counseling experience, my desire is to facilitate client's healing through the development of a collaborative therapeutic relationship. In a warm and supportive environment you'll feel comfortable to share your story and move forward by reaching your personal goals and individual potential.

I believe that every person is unique and has potential to grow and become the best version of themselves. Often the judgement of others guides our life choices and keeps us from meeting our full potential. When you truly accept yourself you can then make choices that lead you to who you really are. You are the expert of your life and my job is to help guide you through the process of self discovery and meet your goals.

I am a licensed clinical social worker with nearly two decades of experience with teens and young adults. I have a passion for working with teens and young adults. Many of my clients enjoy going on walks while we work together. With my teenage clients, we often work together for 1-3 hours outside, using hands-on projects as a conduit for building confidence, emotional intelligence, and self-awareness. I don't deploy a single therapeutic technique. Rather, I blend the best parts of many different approaches. My clients typically find me warm, approachable and validating while gently pushing them to grow in the specific areas.

Seeking support is courageous and a strength to be cultivated. Throughout life we encounter hardships, losses, and transitions, often uncovering emotions and experiences that are difficult to sit with. Despite obstacles there is an inherent human capacity for learning and growth, and in therapy we explore how to tap into these inner resources and break free of patterns that no longer serve you. Through introspection, curiosity, embodiment, and authenticity, I believe you can come into better relationship with yourself and others.

Accepting Teletherapy Appointments Only. I work collaboratively with my clients, empowering them to find balance, wholeness, and greater happiness in life. My broad experience both in a variety of psychological treatment modalities (Internal Family Systems, EMDR, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy and Emotion Focused Therapy) as well as in working with a wide range of clients, enables me to provide therapy that is both deeply compassionate and well-rooted in psychological science. I’m here to help you create stronger, more fulfilling relationships, make peace with yourself, and start living a life of fulfillment and connection.

My approach is engaged, empathic, curious, and deeply human. I strive to create a space that is warm, collaborative, and open. In this space we can explore your challenges, strengths, goals, and lived experience. The therapeutic relationship can help us understand harmful patterns then use new found insights and skills to heal. By navigating these patterns in a supportive space you can feel capable of making positive change.

Currently accepting new clients! I believe we all have the inner capacity to live fulfilling lives that feel authentic and meaningful. Therapy can be a way to uncover your innate capacity for healing and growth and reconnect with yourself. Together, we will explore patterns of thought and behavior that contribute to your current challenges. Bringing curiosity into our work, we will listen to what life is communicating and imagine new ways of relating that feel alive and hopeful. Developing a collaborative relationship rooted in compassion, respect and nonjudgment serves as our foundation.

I’m a firm believer that everybody has the internal resources to live an authentic and fulfilling life. Sometimes, we have experiences that makes it challenging to access those resources, or our coping strategies that once worked well are no longer serving their purpose. My goal is to create a therapeutic space that is non-judgmental and safe, ultimately helping clients find insight into their lives.

I believe each of us is a unique work of art in progress. Therapy is a process of discovering how your deepest self wants to be expressed in the world and then finding the inner resources to live that out. During darker periods of life, we might question the meaning of things, feel flawed or broken, and long for what’s out of reach. These times can signify a loss of connection to our innermost selves and be a call to a new way of living. Our work together will explore pains and patterns that continue to show themselves, family and social systems that shape self-concept, and inner workings of personality that make you who you are.

There comes a time in everyone’s life when extra support is necessary to move through hardship. If you have found yourself feeling stuck or afraid, struggling with relationships or your relationship to yourself, I can help.

Thank you for considering my counseling services. My work is grounded in the belief that change, growth, and healing best occurs through a caring, collaborative, holistic, and warm space. I am a firm believer in establishing a deep and trusting therapeutic relationship within which we can explore the issues at hand. I seek to understand, increase awareness, improve interpersonal skills and encourage growth.

Thank you for visiting my Psychology Today profile & please reach out to me if you would like to begin therapy. I am currently accepting new clients and provide individual and family therapy sessions in person OR via telehealth. I have a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and recently earned my Master of Social Work (MSW). I have also earned an academic concentration in mental health and trauma for my MSW. I have experience working at a wonderful community mental health agency for 5.5 years in addition to experience working with children in public schools helping them with learning and emotional/behavioral challenges.

I value working collaboratively with my clients in a patient, authentic, and empathic manner to help empower individuals to find ways to more effectively navigate and cope with the challenges and stressors in their lives. I have experience working with children, adolescents, families, adults, and couples from a wide variety of racial, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds. I've worked in crisis intervention with individuals experiencing suicidal ideation, as well as with individuals struggling with anxiety, depression, trauma, eating disorders, low self-esteem, substance use issues, relationship issues, and LGBTQ concerns.

I work with individuals, couples, and families who wish for some kind of change in their lives. Common therapeutic goals for the people I work with include, a desire for increased closeness with family and friends, the ability to experience feelings more clearly, a stronger sense of self-worth, and more effective communication within families. People often wish to develop the ability to tolerate individual and collective pain, without doing themselves and each other harm. Most are seeking compassion and understanding. My commitment is to offering that compassion, and to supporting people in achieving their own understanding.

Life presents challenges sometimes. Learning how to access our resiliency, explore negative thought patterns, and strengthen new positive beliefs assists us in creating and maintaining a thriving daily life. I recognize that each person is diverse, having a unique family, social, and cultural history, and that healing and growth can be dependent on numerous factors. I use therapy methods that help bridge communication with children, youth and adults. I hold also hold BA in studio art that contributes to the creativity element of my work with individuals.

I have extensive experience as a psychotherapist and clinical social worker. I enjoy working with adults of all ages and backgrounds, and have the experience, training, and skills to help with a wide array of issues and problems. My specialties include general mental health issues, family and relationship problems, work related stress, life transitions, care-giving, grief and loss. I also provide clinical supervision and consultation on clinical and organizational issues.

I am committed to support you as you heal your trauma and strengthen your ability to regulate your emotions. I want to help you rediscover your strength and achieve your full potential. I will offer you compassion, open-mindedness, empathy, and hope as you discover that healing is possible.