Grief therapists

Clinical Social Work/Therapist, LCSW

Valarie Smith is a licensed clinical social worker in Decatur with 14 years in practice. She works with adults and older adults who want to understand themselves and their relationships more deeply, notice the patterns that keep repeating in their lives, and handle change with more ease. She helps with anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, life transitions, self-esteem, stress, substance use and LGBTQ+ concerns. Her work explores how past experiences and unconscious thoughts shape the present, using psychodynamic, relational, attachment-based, CBT and DBT approaches tailored to each person. She describes herself as kind, genuine and a little offbeat. She sees clients in person in Decatur and online.

Counselor, MA, APC, NCC

Katherine Yates is an Associate Professional Counselor and National Certified Counselor in Roswell. She works with children, teens, adults, couples and families on anxiety, stress, perfectionism, OCD, low mood, body image and eating concerns, trauma, life transitions, faith questions and relationship problems. Her approach is holistic, attending to body, mind and spirit, and blends skills-based tools with space to process one's story. She is trained in Accelerated Resolution Therapy, a trauma-focused method for reprocessing painful memories, and also uses CBT, DBT, attachment-based and Christian counseling. She offers in-person sessions in Roswell and telehealth across Georgia.

Family Therapist, MEd, MA, LMFT

Michelle Tirella Ventura is a licensed marriage and family therapist in Newton with eight years in practice. She works with adults, older adults and couples, including clients on the autism spectrum, on anxiety, stress, grief, trauma, ADHD, life transitions and relationship concerns. With couples she uses Emotion Focused Therapy and the Gottman Method to help partners communicate better and work through conflict, infidelity, parenting stress and change. Her style is warm and transparent, and depending on the client she may add mindfulness and expressive arts to more traditional methods. She welcomes people of all cultures and identities, and co-hosts a podcast called Licensed to Listen. She sees clients in person in Newton and online.

Counselor, LMHC

Allison Reese is a licensed mental health counselor in Wellesley who works with young children, teens, adults and families. A former early intervention clinician, she has particular experience with young children and their parents, and she also helps with anxiety, depression, trauma, ADHD, grief, life transitions, postpartum concerns and feeling stuck as a parent, partner or individual. She offers an affirming space for LGBTQIA+ clients, informed by her own lived experience. Her approach is warm and collaborative, blending CBT, trauma-informed care, Internal Family Systems, expressive arts and play therapy, with room for humor and creativity. She sees clients in person in Wellesley and online.

Clinical Social Work/Therapist, LICSW, MSW

Andrea Cooke is a licensed independent clinical social worker based in Boston, licensed in Massachusetts and Illinois, with more than 15 years of experience. She works with teens, adults, couples and families on anxiety, depression, trauma, relationship challenges, substance use, stress and life transitions, and also supports people who simply want a fuller life. She aims to make therapy feel real and even something to look forward to, addressing worries about the process early and focusing on lasting growth. Her methods include ACT, CBT, DBT, emotionally focused and family systems therapy, mindfulness and motivational interviewing. She works with clients online.

Counselor, MA, LMHC

Mary Kriger is a licensed mental health counselor based in Quincy with 16 years in practice. She works with adults who are already self-aware and want to go deeper, including people making sense of a spiritual awakening or a plant medicine journey, or exploring practices like tarot that they fear other therapists might dismiss. She also supports healers and helpers who feel burned out, along with clients facing anxiety, depression, grief, relationship concerns, low self-esteem and LGBTQ+ issues. Her integrative, compassionate approach draws on Internal Family Systems, relational, humanistic and transpersonal therapy, with attention to how larger systems affect each person, and she offers ketamine-assisted work. She sees clients online.

Psychologist, PsyD, LMHC, LMFT

Dr. Tim Ridge is a licensed psychologist in Wellesley, also holding LMHC and LMFT credentials, with 23 years in practice. He works with teens, adults, older adults and couples dealing with trauma, anxiety, depression, shame, grief, low confidence and harsh self-criticism, as well as relationship, family and substance use concerns. He sees much of everyday anxiety and stress as rooted in past experiences that still drain people emotionally. His approach is collaborative and nonjudgmental, using EMDR, Brainspotting, hypnotherapy and attachment-based, trauma-focused work alongside talk therapy. Clients describe him as empathic, genuine and quick to laugh. He sees clients in person in Wellesley and online.

Counselor, MEd, LCPC, LPC, C-IAYT

Tessa Mandala is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Phoenix with 11 years in practice. She is also licensed as an LCPC in Illinois, holds a Florida telehealth license, and is a certified yoga therapist. She has worked in substance use treatment from inpatient to outpatient care, and she helps adults with addiction and recovery, anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, life transitions and stress, with a welcoming approach for LGBTQIA+ clients. Seeing mind, body and spirit as connected, she blends talk therapy with mindfulness, somatic practice and bodywork, along with CBT, attachment-based work and motivational interviewing. She sees clients in person in Phoenix and online, and offers a free 15-minute consultation.

Psychologist, PsyD

Dr. Tyler Maxson is a licensed psychologist in Mesa who works with teens, adults, couples and groups. Many of his clients are caregivers and high-functioning people who keep everything running for others yet feel unseen, drained or caught in patterns they had not noticed. He also helps with anxiety, depression, grief, life transitions, stress, and couple and family concerns. Central to his work is the belief that health starts with connection, so he focuses on strengthening a person's relationship with themselves, with others and with a sense of meaning. He draws on CBT, person-centered, strength-based and positive psychology approaches. He sees clients in person in Mesa and online.