About Kelsey
The idea that grief is only for those who have been touched by death is misguided. There are many kinds of loss that cause us to mourn: a diagnosis, a body that changed, a life that went somewhere you didn't plan. Any time the expected future turns out not to align with the reality of the present, there is room for grief.
I came to this work through my own version of it: a medically complex child in the NICU, and the complicated mixture of emotions that comes with that: mourning the life I'd imagined while simultaneously feeling gratitude and joy watching my child develop at their own pace, reaching milestones in their own time.
Having been diagnosed with inattentive ADHD at 38 as I raise children on the Autism spectrum, I've become all too aware of the significant lack of equity in a world that was clearly designed for neurotypical minds. Learning to navigate around barriers for my family is what makes me want to share the lessons I've learned along the way, and support others in their journeys too.
Those aren't the only hard things I've lived through. I have lived experience with medical trauma, including insurance, surgeries, recovery, and chronic illness, and with losing a loved one who was in my care. I've met with many difficult things in life, and I find catharsis in supporting others through difficult things.
So I'm at home in complicated tangles of emotion. Grief and gratitude at the same time. You don't have to pick one, and you don't have to arrive with yours sorted out.
Specializations
Caregiver Grief & Burnout
For those who wear many hats
Medical Trauma
Diagnoses, hospitals, insurance, recovery
Grief & Loss
Including the kind nobody names
Neurodivergence
For individuals and for parents
Chronic Illness & Disability
Living in a body that changed
Anticipatory Grief
Mourning while they're still here
Life Transitions
When the plan stops matching reality
Anxiety
Including the health-related kind
Depression
Mood support, paced for you
Therapeutic Style
I take a trauma- and grief-informed approach in all things. Warm and nurturing, collaborative, pretty laid-back and conversational. I explain things. If there's a reason your brain or body is doing what it's doing, I want you to actually understand it. When you get stuck, my instinct is to help you reframe rather than push. I'll suggest something to try between sessions now and then, but I'm not going to assign you homework you didn't ask for.
Currently completing an Advanced Somatic Certificate, The Body in Grief, with grief-informed yoga teacher training to follow.
Communities I Serve
Age groups: Teens (13–17), Young adults (18–25), Adults (26–40), Midlife adults (41–60), Older adults (60+).
In Kelsey's Words
"Perspective is everything. We are all products of our experiences, both good, and not so good."
Something she says a lot in session: "Have you had your water today? We're like houseplants with complex emotions."
Before Your First Session
I'm so glad you're here. It's hard to take the first step toward something new: a new person, a new place, a new thing. It takes courage, and I'm proud of you for taking it. Every step after this one, we can take together, at the pace that feels right for you.