Qualifications
I’m Ariana (she/her), LMHC, LCPC, CMPC. All those letters mean that I am certified and licensed to treat mental health and provide mental performance consulting/mental skills development to people. I received my Master’s (EdM) in Mental Health Counseling and Sport Psychology from Boston University. I was a competitive athlete before suffering a career ending injury, and worked for a couple of years as a middle school English teacher and soccer coach before pursuing my second master’s in counseling.
I am an LMHC (Licensed Mental Health Counselor) in Massachusetts, an LCPC (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor) in Maine, and a CMPC (Certified Mental Performance Consultant) that can work with clients anywhere. Additionally, I have been trained on brainspotting as a form of trauma treatment and performance enhancement.
We might work well together if: you’re looking for someone direct, laidback, and who uses the occasional (or maybe frequent!) swear word; you want a genuine relationship with your therapist (i.e., I promise to be a human being!), and you don’t mind being challenged and want a therapist who values your innate wisdom.
We might work well together if
When I’m not in sessions, you’ll find me spending time with my wife, hiking or walking on the beach with our dog (a rescue pittie mix), exploring cities through food and coffee, or rewatching a favorite show. I love to read and lean into my creative hobbies like photography and painting to decompress after a long day. I also coach a collegiate club rowing team, and love to stay active.
When I’m not in session
Who I work with
For individual therapy, I work a lot with people exploring their identity, navigating complex trauma, experiencing life transitions, working through people pleasing tendencies, dealing with complicated family dynamics, or those wanting to explore how their experiences have impacted their present. A lot of my clients and I explore attachment styles, look to find ways to feel more centered in their choices and life, and learn how to set boundaries. As a queer therapist, I am passionate about providing an affirmative, supportive, and nonjudgemental space for your processing.
I also work with individual athletes or teams on mental performance and/or mental health. Since this is a separate niche, I might have clients that are former athletes looking to work on mental health, clients that are current athletes looking for just mental performance support, or clients that are current athletes looking for mental performance and mental health support. Some clients that are former athletes or competitors want to process their athletic identity, or traumatic athletic experiences. Read more about sport psychology here
My clients also typically stick around for a while: we build a healthy therapeutic relationship that allows for deep processing and connection for years to come. Generally, my clients come ready to work. They’re tired of being stuck and are ready to make real shifts in their lives. It’s okay if they don’t know what to do yet, but they do know they want something to change.
My approach revolves around bottom-up processing, where we work with the body, emotions, and nervous system to create lasting change rather than just addressing surface-level symptoms. Read more about the inspiration for “Upstream”
Either way, you don’t have to be an athlete or queer to work with me. I’m open to working with you if it feels like we are a good match!
How I work
My approach is centered around a core belief of mine: you are the expert of your own experience. You will be centered in all the work we do together. Some clients initially come to me looking for answers, but quickly find the answers are within themselves. My approach to therapy is collaborative and holistic, and I strongly believe in the mind-body connection. I pull from theories such as attachment based, emotion-focused, solution-focused, trauma-focused, strength-based while employing a social justice, feminist, intersectional, and systemic framework.
TLDR; I see you as a whole person with lived experience that informs who you are and how you operate through the world, including the systems (political, geographic, etc.) that you live within.