Dr. Kasia Garland
(she/her/hers)

I practice from a trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and social justice-oriented lens. I am committed to providing a safe, collaborative, and non-judgmental environment for people of all backgrounds in order to promote understanding and well-being. I am a psychodynamically oriented therapist, which means that I believe that our world views, personalities, relational patterns, and coping mechanisms start forming during our earliest encounters. I will therefore ask historical questions to better understand what has shaped how you show up in your life now. Examining the origin points for your sense of self, attachment style, and defense mechanisms can help to resolve current issues and allow for more meaningful and lasting change.

 

I also believe that particularly at the start of treatment, there is often a need to alleviate distress and manage symptoms that are impacting your quality of life before diving deeper into understanding the root causes. I therefore use an individually tailored integrative approach that combines a psychodynamic framework with cognitive behavioral, dialectical, and solution-focused interventions to meet your specific needs.

 

In this collaborative process, I will encourage you to let me know if there are things that work or do not work for you. While I am an expert by profession, you are the expert in your experience, and it is important you share how you are experiencing therapy so I can be a more informed guide.

 

While I am trained as a generalist and enjoy working with many common challenges that bring people to therapy, I have particular expertise in supporting people through life transitions, identity development, interpersonal difficulties, immigration and acculturation concerns, mood disorders, anxiety, and complex trauma. I welcome and appreciate ethnic, racial, and religious diversity in my practice. I identify as a LGBTQIA+ affirming therapist and am experienced in working with trans and gender expansive individuals.