Malaika Puffer (she/her)

MSW
Accepting Clients

Queer, fat, covid cautious, exvangelical, psychiatric survivor. Warm, compassionate, creative, affirming, consensual, never pathologizing.

Psychotherapist in Vermont
Supervised by Emily Megas-Russell, LICSW

Services
  • Individual
  • Adolescent/Teen

About My Clients

I feel best equipped to support people going through some of the same things I have: existential crisis, religious trauma, so-called psychosis, harm from the mental health system, shame, self-injury, anxious attachment, and self-disbelief. If you get stuck in philosophical thought loops, find yourself in patterns that hurt (a part of) you, don’t trust your feelings or experiences, long for connection, or always feel like you are doing something wrong, let’s talk.

My Background and Approach

I have 13+ years of experience in peer support, which taught me the importance of relationship and connection as a primary tool of healing. I place a lot of importance on thinking about our experiences in their existential, evolutionary, historical, cultural, political, social, and environmental contexts. I love thinking about creative and new ways to support oneself and others. I believe that consciousness and bodyminds are mysterious, diverse, and more complex than most of these approaches imply, but I find value in somatics, polyvagal theory, internal family systems, psychodynamics, narrative therapy, existential therapy, and other approaches.

My Personal Beliefs and Interests

I do not use AI in my practice in any way. I will not call crisis/police if you are expressing suicidality unless that is your preference. Psychiatric diagnoses are useful for billing insurance but are not a lens through which I see you. I am a spiritual atheist/nihilist with deep respect for beliefs that differ from mine. I have excluded "personality disorders" from my list of specialties because I think the concept is so harmful but I wholeheartedly welcome clients who have been given a personality disorder diagnosis or who struggle with issues that get categorized that way.

Techniques I Use

Other Techniques
  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
  • Attachment Theory
  • Existential Therapy
  • Harm Reduction Therapy
  • Narrative Therapy
  • Nonviolent Communication
  • Psychodynamic Therapy
  • Somatic Therapy: Body-Based Healing for Emotional Trauma
  • Person-Centered (Rogerian)
  • Philosophical Counseling

Issues I Treat

Specialties
Psychosis and Schizophrenia Self-Harm Spirituality
Other Issues
  • Anxiety
  • Attachment
  • Body Image Issues
  • Burnout
  • Depression
  • Dissociative Disorders
  • LGBTQ-Friendly Therapists
  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Psychosis and Schizophrenia
  • Relationship Issues
  • Self-Esteem
  • Self-Harm
  • Spirituality
  • Suicidal Thoughts
Insurance Plans Accepted
  • Medicaid
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS)
  • MVP
I offer online counseling in the following states:
I have experience with the following
  • Atheism
  • Christianity

At A Glance

  • Experience: 2 years of practice
  • Languages: English
  • Rate: $100 - 150/session

Reach out to Malaika