About Kristen

Entering therapy can be a radical act of self-love.

It can be the beginning of a newfound compassion for others, the willingness and bravery to embrace change, the opportunity to heal wounds, a profound journey into self-awareness, and the opportunity to truly see and be seen by others. I am humbled and grateful to offer an invitation and shine a light on a pathway into the kind of life that you would like to lead.

As a therapist, I believe my role is to offer a non-judgmental, open-hearted, and hope-filled space for you to begin to tell a different story about who you are and how you show up in your life. Our stories, identities, and choices shape who we are and sometimes societal expectations, our sense of shame, deeply ingrained pain, trauma, and hurtful relationships can make us feel as though we are broken, alone, too much, or not enough. 

I believe my role as a therapist is to provide a space for you to experience yourself in a new light in the here and now. Through attunement to the wisdom of what our bodies are telling us, combined with the interplay of thought and emotion, you can build a new narrative, sense of safety, and intimacy with self and others.

In my 8 years as a therapist, I have found a lot of joy working with a variety of individuals and couples to increase connection, intimacy, pleasure, sensuality, and eroticism in their lives. Too often, pleasure is relegated to something that we earn or an extra thing after all the hard work of living is done. I believe that pleasure is central to our experience as humans. Rather than being self-indulgent, and in some cases, thought of as “dirty,” performative, disordered, shameful, only allowed to certain types of people and certain types of bodies, it is a pathway for knowing ourselves and our bodies as pathways to self-knowledge and self-acceptance. 

Some of the areas and populations that I tend to work with are individuals and couples experiencing Out-of-Control Sexual Behavior, Sexual Desire Discrepancy, pain during sex, neurodivergence (particularly as it relates to ADHD and Autism), consensual non-monogamy/polyamory, kink/BDSM, breaches of trust, erectile issues, LGBTQIA+ folx, gender-questioning folx, and couples navigating painful emotions and building a new kind of relationship after the end of a romantic/sexual relationship.

Background

My life has not had a linear path until the last 8 or so years, when I discovered that the field of therapy, and sex therapy in particular, is a deep passion of mine. It does not stop being humbling and amazing to me that I get to do this work and watch people evolve and grow. 

My connection with Boston began in 2001 when I went to Emerson College. A few years after college, I decided that I wanted to go back to school to become a barber (see what I mean about non-linear?), and cut hair in the Boston area for 8 years. I like to say that I got my first lessons in how to be a counselor while being a barber, and it’s true. Behind the chair, I got to know so many people: their stories, their worries, their relationships, their victories, their grief, and their happiness. I felt so lucky to be entrusted with their feelings, their thoughts, and being able to help them feel good about themselves with their fresh haircuts. I knew what I had to do: I went to graduate school for Mental Health Counseling and graduated in 2017. Shortly thereafter, I moved to Seattle and got my start as a sex therapist at PNW Sex Therapy Collective, where I learned a great deal and became the kind of therapist that I strived to be. 

Now that I am back in Boston, I am so excited to be in the town and amongst the people I am drawn back to again and again. My roots are deep here, and I am looking forward to helping people in this field I love so dearly.