Mikaela Graham (she/her)

My Approach to Helping

My approach to healing collaborative, relational, and grounded in warmth to safely explore your emotions, experiences, and pain. I utilize direct communication and value building trust through authentic connection, welcoming feedback, humor, and even skepticism. Together, we will gently explore your experiences, both within yourself and within the counseling relationship, to build insight and foster healing. To access to your wisdom, process your pain, and identify supports to find relief, I draw from approaches that emphasize emotional processing, regulation, mindfulness, and the power of connection. This includes tools and ideas from Relational-Cultural Theory, DBT, AEDP, and parts-informed experiential work, such as Internal Family Systems (IFS). I intend to keep cultural identity, social context, and equity at the heart of what I do, offering a supportive, LGBTQIA+ affirming space where all of who you are is welcome.

Why I Became a Therapist

My journey to becoming a counselor began like so many, with my own experiences and impacts of mental health. When I embarked on this path, I read that we become the healers that we believe could’ve healed us. Part of the wonder of this work is that I will never know if that’s true, though that splendid hope sparked my desire to pursue this work. There is something magical about the therapeutic relationship and our human ability to embody the vast spectrum of what it feels like to be alive. As my professional journey continues to unfurl, I seem to find fondness for working with all sorts of people, beyond the versions of me that needed more support. Through the experience of being a counselor, I believe a little part of me will always be connected to the people who have entrusted me with the honor of offering them support as they heal. It would be a great privilege to walk alongside you as well.