ABOUT ME

My personal and professional experiences lead me to working with individuals who are neurodivergent, transgender, and non-binary. I’m passionate about my work with Autistic and ADHD folks. I have dedicated hundreds of hours to learning about the most current findings, treatments, and diagnosis of ADHD and Autism. I have experience supporting individuals dealing with anxiety, depression, childhood trauma, chronic illness, gender identity explorations, LGBTQIA+ issues, self-esteem issues, confidence, and body acceptance issues. I have professional training and lived experience in finding body trust while existing in a larger body.

I work to center the innate needs of my Autistic and ADHD clients rather then encouraging them to assimilate to neurotypical norms. My approach to neurodivergent-affirming care focuses on providing supports, accommodations, and skill developments that empower neurodivergent individuals to thrive authentically as themselves. My clients leave therapy having a deeper understanding of their unique neurotype and nervous system. My hope is to empower neurodivergent individuals to recognize and use their strengths, navigate their challenges, and make adjustments tailored to their needs.

In your appointment with me you can expect a therapist who is emotion focused, gentle, authentic, and striving to be fully present in the moment with you. We may flow between approaches rooted in art making, play, talking, or writing. Therapy is a collaborative process between me and my clients. I know that my clients bring valuable wisdom and insight into the therapy space.

I am an ADHDer, queer, an artist, a cat lover, and a daydreamer.

Clinical Areas of Focus

Anxiety, Depression, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, PTSD, Childhood Trauma, Chronic Illness, Health At Every Size approach

Hi, I’m kalle (she/her).

About my work

Questions and thoughts that inform my practice:

The foundation of my practice is a trauma-informed approach that acknowledges the impact of systemic oppression and injustice on mental health. I intend to create a therapeutic space that is non-judgmental and allows people to access their authentic selves. Individual mental health is not something we can separate from systemic issues. Therapy is political. Individuals cannot access holistic wellness is an society that has oppressive policies and harmful notions of normativity. Systems of oppression [...such as government, education, policing, healthcare, climate policy, food policy, immigration policy, housing policy, racism, sexism, the gender binary, ableism, weight stigma, the beauty industrial complex, capitalism, etc...] work together to make individuals feel lesser or atypical, placing individual responsibility to “fix” themselves. Therapy is a radical act of healing that can create change internally and externally at a community level. In therapy we work to unlearn lies engrained in our consciousness that leave us in a state of shame and never being “good enough”. I work to be an anti-oppressive therapist actively evaluating and challenging ways I may contribute to the upholding of these notions of normativity.

How do we prioritize rest and reclaim ourselves from burnout and the “always busy” mentality of capitalism?

How do I commit to stepping out of the medical model in mental health that seeks to define individuals by their “problem” and aims to pathologize humanness?

How do I acknowledge and challenge heteronormativity and neuro-normativity in my art therapy work?

How do I work to continually see where my privileged identities (white, a settler, cis) lead me to uphold systems of oppression?

I acknowledge that I live and work on stolen land. How do I move past acknowledgments to materially support indigenous communities and the land back movement?

How do I work to keep a focus of body liberation, and acknowledgment of the oppressive effects of anti-fat bias and weight stigma in the therapeutic relationship?

MY credentials & experiences

  • I am a Licensed Professional Counselor and Registered Art Therapist

  • M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Art Therapy, Wayne State University, 2021

  • B.A. in Studio Art with an additional major in Psychology, Michigan State University, 2018

  • I have over 8 years of experience facilitating therapeutic art-making. My years of experience have led me to work in non-profits, museums, soup kitchens, private practices, residential centers, and hospitals.

  • I have over 3,000 hours of experience providing clinical art therapy and counseling to clients of all ages.

  • Trainings, talks and webinars:

    I am a ADHD-Certified Clinical Services Provider (ADHD-CCSP)

    Various trainings learning Health at Every Size approches

    Harm reduction weight loss and body liberation - Gloria Lucas

    Best Practices for implementing interoception based supports - Kelly Mahler

    Becoming an anti-racist anti-oppressive clinician - Dr. Raquel Martin & Dr. Han Ren

    Beyond Body Positivity - Center for Body Trust

    Expert Strategies for Working with Traumatic Memory- NICABM

    Unlock Your Body's Wisdom - Journey to Wholeness through Body-Led Eating Dailia Kinsey

    Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia - Kate Manne, Ph.D. and Roxane Gay

    Implicit Bias Training

    Human Trafficking training