Andraya Hayward (she/her)

My Background and Approach

I come to this work as a queer, feminist, farmer artist shaped by my own experiences with burnout, grief, and trauma. These threads inform the way I sit with others. I’m trained in art therapy, IFS, experiential therapy, and the Eagala model, and I’ve witnessed both personally and professionally how healing deepens when language is no longer the only path. My clinical background includes supporting women through eating disorders, grief, burnout, and emotional intensity, as well as working in Hospice, where I helped people nearing the end of life communicate powerful truths through creative expression. I believe humans are resilient even when they’re convinced they’re not, and as Trevor Hall writes, “To find our heart, we have to lose our mind.” My approach begins with talk therapy to understand history, goals, strengths, and core values, then gently expands into experiential work that removes the barriers language can create and opens access to emotional truth.

My Values as a Therapist

I practice from a queer, feminist lens that centers women’s lived experiences and challenges the cultural forces that shape their pain. My work is queer affirming, honoring identity as a source of wisdom, resilience, and creativity, and offering a space where women and AFAB non binary people can exist without explanation or performance. I draw from HAES & liberation work of author Sonya Renee Taylor. I name and resist the systems that contribute to burnout, eating disorders, and emotional suppression-diet culture, perfectionism, productivity pressure, and self erasure. Safety in my practice means gently guiding critical thoughts back toward the heart. I believe creativity is a powerful problem solving force, often blocked by the demands of modern life, and I help women reconnect with their emotional truth, their values, and their power. I offer pro bono spots for women with limited resources as part of my commitment to accessibility and justice.