Annalise Ophelian (they/her)

My Approach to Helping

My work is geared toward supporting you in tapping into your existing strengths (I promise you have them!), identifying and strategizing around external issues that we often have no control over, and honing in on where you can affect change and call in the support you need and deserve. My approach is collaborative, supportive, solution-focused, and grounded in a social justice framework that acknowledges the role of institutional and systemic marginalization in our available resources, paths for healing, and sense of well-being. I believe diagnostic categories are only as useful as they provide a shorthand for you to describe yourself and your experiences. I hold them lightly, and always follow the lead of those I'm working with when it comes to the way you understand yourself. You are the expert in your own experience; I'm here to help you organize and make the most of this expertise, be a supportive guide, and help you mobilize the tools and resources you need to thrive.

My Values as a Therapist

I provide culturally responsive trauma-informed cognitive behavioral therapy to help you feel resilient, resourced, and supported in unstable times. My work is grounded in a social justice framework that acknowledges the role of institutional and systemic marginalization in our available resources, paths for healing, and sense of well-being. I'm also a neuroscience geek who is always looking at the mind-body connection when it comes to how we survive and thrive. I'm a big believer in the power of popular culture (film, TV, comics, games, and books) to offer allegories and language for shared experience. My practice is informed by disability justice and anti-colonial principles, and I'm a prison abolitionist who has provided healthcare within the Prison Industrial Complex and understands firsthand that there's no "justice" in criminal justice systems. I offer pro bono support letters for gender affirming medical procedures.