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Misty Forest Reflection

therapy
rooted in liberation & relationships

I am a current student at the University of Michigan School of Social Work studying interpersonal practice. I will obtain limited licensure (LLMSW) in January 2025. Email me (luna@lunanh.com) if you would like to be notified when I am accepting new clients.

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My Approach

Unfortunately, we live in a society that doesn't prioritize our inherent human needs. Many of us struggle through violence, neglect, chronic stress, disconnection, and discrimination on a systematic and personal level. Whether that has shown up in your family system, community, ancestry, work, inner world, or efforts to create social change―my hope is for therapy to reduce your suffering in service of the change you want for yourself and the people closest to you. Whatever your "symptoms," they are not evidence of something wrong with you, but of an understandable and meaningful response to what has happened to you (and around you).

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I practice the following modalities and approaches, based in attachment theory and the power, threat, meaning framework. These modalities emphasize connective relationships, emotional engagement, the body-mind connection, and the impacts of trauma. 

  • Emotionally-Focused Therapy

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS)

  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

  • Mindfulness

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“If we could begin to see much illness itself not as a cruel twist of fate or some nefarious mystery but rather as an expected and therefore normal consequence of abnormal, unnatural circumstances, it would have revolutionary implications for how we approach everything health related.”
― Gabor Maté, The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture

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Who do I work with?

I work with anyone age 16+ who hopes to improve their quality of life, connection, and meaning, regardless of what "symptoms" they have.

 

My specialty is working with people who have experienced trauma through:

  • high control environments (loss of agency); 

    • incarceration,

    • abusive relationships,

    • controlling religious or political groups, 

    • constraining material circumstances (homelessness, poverty); and

  • social change and care work (chronic stress, collective wounds, moral injury);

    • organizing, activism, mutual aid,

    • social service,

    • crisis response, healthcare.

 

Folks show up to therapy with feelings of shame, guilt, anger, grief, and numbness. Folks bring experiences of engaging in harm, lashing out, desperately trying to control and manage their life, feeling they are always on the run, or living in a "fog" unable to connect. You might feel hopeless right now, like things will always be like this - I welcome and understand those feelings. If any of those experiences feel familiar, or if I just seem like a good fit for you - I hope to hear from you.

  • LGBTQIA+ (ace and non0binary inclusive), polyamory, and platonic-family affirming 

  • Decolonizing therapy (to the extent possible within our systems)

  • Anti-racist, abolitionist

  • Eager to incorporate your spiritual & cultural practices of meaning 

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Individual Therapy​

Individual therapy involves weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly sessions between a client and therapist. 
Virtual or in-person.

 

Relationship Therapy

Weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.

In-person only.

Relationship therapy is not exclusive to romantic relationships; sessions can be with friends or small friend groups, romantic or sexual partners, chosen family, or whoever is an important figure in your life with whom you would like to repair or strengthen a relationship. Western societies hold relationship hierarchies that have caused most therapy to be with individuals, couples, or family (parents - children). However, for many people - especially queer, fostered, or politically disconnected folks - our most important relationships are not with our family of origin. Not all romantic or sexual relationships fit into the "couple" category, and can include polyamorous or other nontraditional arrangements. All relationship types and configurations are welcome and affirmed.

 

How can therapy help?

What these approaches to therapy could support you with: 

  • Creating present, compassionate contact with difficult emotions and sensations, even in the face of adverse circumstances. Finding ways for those emotions and sensations to become assets.

  • Creating the relationship you want with yourself through connection with all parts of yourself (body and mind), and committed action to your hopes for a better life and/or better world.

  • Creating secure connections and relationships by developing capacity to acknowledge current strategies, listen to yourself and others, integrate your experiences, and create new patterns.

  • Building "outsight," a capacity to expand perspective to see how systems (policies, culture, social structures) have influenced one's life and the lives of those around us. Through this capacity, relieving the pressure of "what is wrong with me," and taking action to feel less targeted, isolated, alienated, and alone with your burdens.

  • Recovering from experiences in high control environments by connecting with and living in the present moment, reconnecting to the parts of you that have been hidden away, and remembering how to feel a full range of emotions and sensations that may not have felt safe before.  

 

Every client's own strengths, power, connections, values, and meaning are the best assets available in therapy. Some people find it easy to identify their strengths (and often feel burdened by them), while others have a difficult time seeing their own power (despite it keeping them alive). At the core, you have a compassionate, curious Self who is creative, and seeks profound connections. In therapy, we'll discover that Self.

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How to Access Therapy

​If you would like to be on a waiting list to potentially be a client in January 2025, please email me at luna@lunanh.com. I am limited to seeing clients within the state of Michigan due to licensing regulations. When I have identified a therapy home and supervisor, I will reach out with details about pay scale, location options, and insurance. 

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