Katie Ryan, MSW, LSWAIC

I help adults, couples, and families break dysfunctional patterns, gain new perspectives, and heal from the past.

My Work

My therapeutic work is rooted in holistic, embodied and relational healing. I work in collaboration with individuals and couples to explore the root causes of your challenges through a deeply nourishing, non-judgmental and safe therapeutic relationship. Our work will likely include processing and healing from past traumas, beliefs, experiences and relationships that have impacted your psychology, and the way you feel, think and act. We may also address present behavior and coping skills, and work together to improve your mental and emotional toolbox. Frequently, we will examine both the past and present, the psychological and the behavioral, the mind and the body, and the narrative of your story to heal slowly – at your pace – from the inside out. My work draws on attachment theory, narrative therapy, mindfulness and somatic healing and cognitive behavioral approaches, depending on your goals and preferences.

My Belief

I believe that every person has the capacity to live a meaningful life, and find contentment and peace in their relationship with self and others even amongst terrible hardships, trauma and world-wide catastrophes. The foundation of therapeutic work is the containment and support through which you can safely explore the pieces of past and present that are holding you back, identify and build on your unique strengths, and learn to trust your own innate ability to care for yourself. It is my belief that the therapeutic relationship, as much as the therapeutic work, is what begins to heal us.

My Background

I am a licensed associate independent clinical social worker, and hold a masters degree in Social Work from Simmons University. My experience began long before formal training and professional therapy practice, in my work organizing shared meals for sheltered domestic abuse survivors and their families, and later managing and mentoring cooks as a chef and culinary instructor. It was through this sustaining and embodied work of feeding and connecting, that I found my calling to practice clinical therapy as a healer and nourishing collaborator.

My Self

I am a human being, a mother, daughter, friend and partner. Much of what I know about what it means to be human, and what it means to take care, comes from being a mother. Similarly, I am constantly humbled and inspired from the wisdom of the natural world, and continue to find healing in being a small spec in a large, beautiful universe. When challenges arise, when the world feels dysfunctional and heavy, I come back to that constant vast beauty and the gift of being present to it all.

Contact

Please use the contact form below to learn about Katie’s availability.