Nastassia Betcher (she/her/hers)

We all try and hide worry in different ways. Different personality types may hide their anxiety by staying super busy, making jokes, isolating, talking too much or withdrawing, drinking, pretending everything’s okay, or by lashing out. But here’s the thing, anxiety is a physiological warning bell. So all the ways we hide our anxiety is only delaying when the alarms are going to get louder. You can solve the worry, we just have to be clever about how we face it.

Feminist therapy is a form of counseling centered on social structures, feedback, and gender. As a person grows up, they get feedback about how they should or should not act/operate in the world. This can come from parents, siblings, teachers, partners, bosses, or otherwise, but ultimately, this feedback is designed to oppress or conform to people of power values. This shows up in how you engage with the world you. I do not always discuss this in each session, but I always use this framework.

CBT is a short-term, goal-oriented treatment that takes a structured approach to problem-solving. CBT's goals are to change thinking or behavior patterns that negatively affect clients' lives. This is a quick way to discover within yourself your ability and power to change thinking, and so your circumstances. This is a powerful treatment for negative self-talk, anxiety, and perfectionism this, however, does not work with oppression, natural disaster, or grief.

Culturally sensitive therapy emphasizes the therapist's understanding of a client's background, ethnicity, and belief system. As a therapist, the instrument that I use to enact my professional work is myself – I attended a graduate program that infused social justice and racial-cultural framework in all courses. It enhanced my awareness of my own interpersonal style, skills, and biases, which allows me to perform culturally-relevant and psychologically-appropriate across the lifespan.

Navigating the teen years can be thrilling yet overwhelming. I specialize in supporting high-performing teens who feel their self-worth is tied to performance and college acceptances. I also provide a compassionate space for teens dealing with loss, helping them process complex emotions and make thoughtful choices during tough times. With my background as a high school therapist, I love guiding teens through their big plans and big feelings, helping them grow into resilient, self-aware adults.

I work with high-achieving women whose salary or job titles are often aligned with their self-worth. Usually, perfectionism is paired closely with the desires of these women. This can cost a lot of time, energy, and ultimately anxiety because women will “just add one more thing,” to their plate. This leads to burnout, lack of self-identity (outside of employment and/or helping others), and an underpinning attitude of feeling alone.