~ about liz ~
ever-healing healer,
fiercely compassionate guide
First and foremost, I come to you as someone who has struggled, healed, struggled some more, and taken one step at a time towards greater self-knowledge, hard-earned wisdom and compassion. Over the years, I have found that my own experiences of healing and waking up have been some of the greatest assets in my work with others. It is my great honor and joy to be in the role of psychotherapist, healer, meditation guide, and creative co-visioner - and to have the opportunity to collaborate with my clients as they craft new ways of meeting their lives. Walking alongside others as they wake up to the healing potential that resides within their minds and hearts, and within our many communities, is my passion!
As a white, gender expansive, queer, chronically ill trauma survivor and person who grew up with both middle and working class backgrounds, I think about, talk about, and pay loving attention to dynamics of power and oppression often. I also remain COVID cautious (feel free to ask what this means to me!) and welcome the opportunity to support others who are continuing to take COVID precautions themselves. I am most enlivened in my work when creating spur of the moment guided meditations, trusting the inherent wisdom embodiment offers, and co-creating heartful and culturally responsive psychotherapy relationships with my clients.
In terms of technical training and experience, I graduated from the Smith College School for Social Work with my masters degree in social work. I have worked extensively in outpatient eating disorder treatment settings, college counseling centers (Smith College, Amherst College and Mount Holyoke College), and community mental health agencies. I am an independent clinical social worker licensed in Vermont. I am also a certified mindful self-compassion teacher who also has ample experience teaching and guiding meditation in a variety of settings. I have studied Buddhism with a particular focus on decolonizing meditation - I believe strongly in honoring it’s rich traditions while striving not to culturally appropriating them. I completed a Buddhist chaplaincy training program in 2017 and have sat by the bedside of hospital patients and their loved ones as a compassionate friend during times of illness and death. I am also a Level II AEDP psychotherapist, which means that have undergone many hours of training to deepen my skills to support my clients to experience and process moment-to-moment, body-based and relationally-supported change.
My most indispensable training, however, has been obtained through a lifetime touched by pain and struggle, joy and abundance. Time spent crumpled up client-side on the therapy couch, long nights spent tossing and turning in crinkly hospital beds, managing misadventures in misgendering, participating in over a years’ worth of silent meditation retreats – over and over again, charting a course back to loving presence. I am also immensely grateful to be able to spend ample time savoring our natural world, laughing at (and sometimes making) all the worst dad jokes, and enjoying sweet moments at home in the company of my beloveds (one human, and one cat). I find great fulfillment in harvesting edible wild plants and turning them into unexpectedly tasty treats. I am engaged in the communities I am a part of to co-create systems that are responsive to the needs of all, but especially to the needs of those who are most marginalized. Disability justice, racial justice, socio-economic justice and justice for our earth are all areas that inspire grounded fierceness and loving action for me.