Who Am I: In and Out of Session?
Meet Joey!
Who I Am Today
I am a fully licensed mental health clinician (since 2017) whose work is grounded in curiosity, autonomy, and respect for each person’s authentic self. The question “Who am I?” remains alive in my work—not as uncertainty, but as an ongoing, reflective process shaped through therapy, community, and lived experience.
I approach counseling as a collaborative relationship where clients are supported in becoming agents of their own change. My goal is not to help people conform to external expectations, but to help them identify what thriving looks like for them, even within systems shaped by trauma, oppression, capitalism, and imperialism.
How I Work
I practice therapy from a relational, trauma-informed, and neurodiversity-affirming perspective. I believe deeply in supporting client autonomy, honoring differences, and creating environments—both internal and external—that make growth possible.
I bring particular care to:
Power dynamics in therapeutic relationships
The impact of systems on individual well-being
Supporting joy, self-expression, and meaning alongside pain
Appreciating the fun in all aspects of life
I strive to ensure that therapy serves the client’s objectives—not the agendas of institutions, families, or dominant cultural norms.
How the Hell Did I Get Here?!
My relationship with therapy began in adolescence. I have experienced therapy as a client, student, intern, and clinician, and I know firsthand what it feels like to sit on both sides of the room. I have worked with counselors who earned my trust and supported deep healing—and I have also survived harmful therapy. (And I’m here to talk about it.)
As a survivor of sexual conversion therapy, much of my young adulthood was shaped by healing from complex trauma and making space for my authentic, visibly Queer self. These experiences profoundly inform my commitment to ethical care, consent, and client self-determination. I moved to Baltimore in 2012 knowing only my sister; and over time, the city—and its people—became a central part of my growth, belonging, and identity.
I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the College of William & Mary (2011) and my Master’s in Applied Psychology from the University of Baltimore (2018). Before becoming a therapist, I worked across many relational and service-oriented roles, including pasta maker, shopkeeper, translator (Italian), pourover coffee barista, writer, editor, and retail associate. These roles taught me how people seek connection, care, and meaning—and helped me realize that “satisfied customer” was never enough. I passionately wanted to help people thrive.
This desire led me to work as a special educator for autistic children and youth with behavioral differences. While the work was meaningful, I also experienced burnout, compassion fatigue, and discomfort with standards of care that often prioritize compliance over autonomy. I became increasingly aware of how easily therapeutic spaces can mirror coercive systems—sometimes unintentionally.
That awareness clarified my mission: Support people in resisting harmful narratives about who they should be, and instead cultivate self-understanding, joy, and agency.
In recent years, I have continued to deepen my own self-understanding, coming out as non-binary and transfemme, and exploring my neurotype. Identifying as AuDHD in adulthood has helped me better understand my nervous system, my relationship to dopamine, and the importance of environmental supports and self-accommodation—insights that directly inform my clinical work.
An Ongoing Journey
Therapy—whether with a clinician or through private reflection—is not a destination, but a continuous, unfolding and transformative process. As time has passed, my values, language, beliefs, and community have evolved alongside me.
With the support of chosen family, intimate friendships, and familiar spaces of care, I invite you to consider how you might thrive, reconnect with your authentic self, and learn alongside me as we navigate life.
