I would feel challenged to do justice to Kelsey in a single testimonial, as she is quite simply just so good at what she does. (I remember wanting to tell her that incessantly during my first few weeks of working with her due to feeling flooded by an overflowing sense of gratitude!) Her intellect is formidable, her personality and disposition are extremely well suited to the therapeutic role, and she is willing to go the extra mile to help her clients in a way that I have rarely (if ever before) experienced.
She doesn't have the abundance of glowing testimonials that her work deserves because (in keeping with her healthy sense of professional ethics and boundaries) she doesn't believe in soliciting them from clients (a fact I learned after asking her about it in the course of sharing my own experience with soliciting and receiving testimonials). In that sense, she is kind of like a hidden gem that I feel incredibly lucky to have come across.
What she does have, on the other hand, is such a wealth of insight, understanding and awareness (as well as such an artful ability to synthesize and reconcile apparent contractions in ways that help make sense of seemingly nonsensical feelings and experiences) that I often take notes when she gives me feedback, and have wished, at times, that she would write a book (or at least do a Ted talk!) so that more people could benefit from her extensive knowledge and creative and entertaining analogies.
I have come so far so fast in the direction of reclaiming my inner compass and rebuilding my sense of self since working with her that I would hardly have believed it possible had somebody predicted it. If I had to distill into a nutshell what made her approach feel so empowering to me, I would say it was the way in which she reinforced my sense of the reality of my experience and made me aware of my options in response to it but, at the same time, completely respected my freedom in terms of deciding which options to implement, when to implement them, and in what way. I think if I had felt pushed to pursue a particular course of action (no matter how beneficial it might have been) that would have elicited fear-based resistance in me, activated inner conflicts (around the need for acceptance or approval), and, altogether, tied me in a knot; but what I noticed with Kelsey is that she would present an option for my consideration, (from which my mind might initially, recoil in fear), and then I would find myself acting on it subsequently and feeling much stronger and more whole for having done so.
I would attribute this to the appreciation Kelsey has for the often paradoxical (or dialectical) nature of reality, which contributes to her interpersonal effectiveness. For example, I remember her telling me, on one occasion (when I was struggling with feeling fragile, while at the same time judging myself for it and wanting to push myself to do whatever it took to become stronger) that there would be times when I would want to challenge myself (and / or another person) and other times when I would need to pace myself by stepping back and "managing vulnerability;" (essentially that being gentle and understanding with oneself could be as valid and necessary in the growth and healing process, at times, as forging forward with new behaviors; a wonderfully nurturing "permission" that was exactly what I most needed to hear). This illustrates one of the things I've found most valuable about her way of working, which is how much room she has always had for my personal autonomy and, in particular, for my freedom to exercise it by consulting my own inner wisdom and resources with regard to what would be the most helpful or effective step for me to take next at any given time.
Kelsey is truly a five star therapist. She knocks the ball out of the ball park! read more
