Our Team of Therapists
FOUNDER, CLINICAL SUPERVISOR, PSYCHOTHERAPIST
James Naicker, LCSW (she/her)
Therapy can be more than a set of techniques applied to support your change process; it can be change and being itself. For those who want to engage therapy as an “inner journey toward spiritual realization,” I approach therapy as a spiritual practice. The work of Stephen and Ondrea Levin languages the spiritual practice I support my clients in as an “individuation of the heart, that opens one to qualities of life and levels of consciousness previously unknown.” A synchronization of body and mind occurs out of this individuation, this second birth—“there is another birth that comes after birth.” My life’s work is midwifing the unborn in the born.
My therapeutic style is gentle, warm, no-nonsense, direct, responsive, and invitational. At the heart of my work, I empower through education; therefore, you will experience my engagement, creativity, and playfulness through my use of metaphors, analogies, props, and references in media to explain theoretical and practical concepts.
PSYCHOTHERAPIST
Kara Holmes Araujo, LMSW (she/her)
I’m glad you’re here. It takes courage to reach out when you’re suffering. Symptoms (such as anxiety, depression, chronic pain, etc.), often arise when we are struggling to be with—truly see, explore, and accept—difficult aspects of our lives or our pasts and the painful feelings they bring. It’s common to lack this capacity—we weren’t meant to do this alone. Many of us haven’t received the support we need to hold life’s pain.
I bring the capacity to help you contain and explore your feelings and inner experiences and the expertise to help you understand and organize your inner world. Together, we will make sense of what has happened to you and what you’re currently going through. We do this together, but the expanded capacity and coherency stays with you beyond our sessions. I will reflect back to you the truth and beauty of who you are and help you access your unique essence more clearly and fully.
When we can sense ourselves, make sense to ourselves, understand our experiences, and when feelings no longer overwhelm us, we can move forward in life with confidence knowing we can not only withstand the full human experience, we can revel in it. Because we can feel more, we are more present. We learn we can face life on life’s terms. Symptoms slowly recede because they’re no longer needed. We get to really live.
PSYCHOTHERAPIST
Josh Connor, LMSW, PhD (he/him)
You might seek therapy for any number of reasons – to deal with feelings like sadness, anxiety, or low self-esteem; to stop repeating patterns that you know make matters worse but can’t seem to change; or perhaps to wrestle with a deep challenge - an illness, a trauma, a loss.
Whatever brings you here, therapy offers a space to slow down, reflect on your life, and sense what your thoughts and feelings have to tell you about where you've come from and where you're going.
While we might work on coping skills or reducing symptoms, therapy is ultimately about building a deeper relationship to your life - alive to your experiences, capable of having deep and rich relationships, and rooted in an expansive sense of your own inner complexity and strength.
My style is mutual, playful, direct and authentic. I will offer my experience and expertise when I think they might be useful, but the core of our work will be a conversation. My task within that will be to meet you where you are, understand your experience with as much clarity and empathy as I can, and help guide you into deeper conversation with yourself. In return, I’ll invite you to engage your inner world with courage and honesty, and listen for what it has to offer you.
PSYCHOTHERAPIST
Jess Freedman, LMSW (she/her)
Looking for information on Jess’s chronic pain therapy specialty? Read more here.
There’s a distinct yet universal frustration that arises when we seem to have it all together on the outside, and yet on the inside, we feel stuck, unable to break free, change how we feel, or align who we are with who we believe we should be. It’s bewildering to be someone who is smart, well-liked, professionally successful, a loyal friend, a caring family member—someone with so much to offer—and still experiencing profound inner suffering. We tell ourselves, I’m a good person; I shouldn’t be struggling like this. This disconnect can leave us feeling deeply confused.
Over time, that confusion grows into frustration. It might show up as being the person everyone relies on for support and compassion, while inwardly battling relentless self-criticism and shame. Or it might look like knowing intellectually what emotions you should feel and why, but still feeling disconnected and numb inside.
This frustration often leads to questioning: Is this just how life will always feel? Can I ever break free from these patterns and be the person I truly want to be?
If any of this resonates with you, welcome. You are in the right place. I know how much desperation and strength it takes to find yourself at this juncture. I’m glad that this is where we get to meet.