Kristen Dwyer

Kristen Dwyer, LCSW

She/her/hers – what are personal pronouns and why do they matter?

Clients I work with: Adult individuals and groups.

Issues I work with: Anxiety, depression, self-worth, identity, emotion dysregulation, trauma, limiting beliefs, relationships, communication patterns, boundaries, emotional intimacy, trust, family of origin experiences, adverse experiences in childhood, grief and loss, chronic illness, and life transitions/adjustments.

 

My Approach

As humans, we all have a unique story, forged from the sum total of our lived experiences. Our personhood is shaped and impacted by the thousands of interactions we have with important others across the life cycle, sending messages about what is loveable, acceptable, and available to us. Family dynamics, childhood experiences, friendships, love relationships, transitions, and losses offer both resources and hurts that, left unorganized, can skew our sense of self.

I work with clients to dive more deeply into the origins of who they are, how life and relationships have shaped them, what is important to keep, and what might need some tending to. When you look deeper into your story you can get a better understanding of how you have learned to navigate connection, emotions, conflict, boundaries, and relational needs. As you organize what has shaped you, you can reclaim your power to heal and resolve old patterns and find new ways to be more fully yourself.

We can explore the stuck points, protectors, adaptations, and threat mitigation strategies you have needed up until now. We can make intentional and safe space for any parts or wounds that need healing or going back for.

Along the way, I can help you access and harness your inner resources, wisdom, and resilience. Human beings are incredibly skilled at finding ways to deal with challenges, overwhelm, and unmet needs, and I want to reassure you that you have been doing the best you can with what has been available to you. My role is to help you make sense of how you have coped and responded so far, so that you can know both the brilliance of your strategies and that other possibilities that are available.

Whether you lean on shutting down or withdrawing, overfunctioning or pursuing, people-pleasing, controlling, perfectionism, isolation, or giving up your power, you have come by these strategies as a means of getting what you need as best you can. While these protective strategies might have reduced the hurt of feeling rejected, unimportant, or not enough, they also serve to limit your full potential, self-worth, and sense of satisfaction in life.

Where you would like support to try out new ways of interacting with loved ones, I can be there to support you through this change. It can feel risky to show up differently, be clearer about your needs and boundaries, or be more open and vulnerable. I would be honored to help you create the relationships you long for and deserve. I believe that showing up as your Self is a gift to the world, and can open up infinite possibilities for deeper and more meaningful connections.

In service of this, much of my work takes an emotional focus. Emotions offer a north star or compass for knowing who you are, what you need, and what you long for from others. Most of us don’t have a solid map for organizing, tolerating, and sharing our feelings in healthy and satisfying ways. We may have been taught to withdraw from or numb feelings, ignore or deny them, minimize or redirect them, or come to believe our emotions are “too much”.

I want to reassure you that your feelings are valid, important, and resourceful. Part of our work can be to help you organize the emotions you are experiencing, the origins of these feelings, and the function they may have served. I can help you to understand the patterns, vulnerabilities, and strengths you have developed so you can feel clearer about what is happening inside of you. 

With the understanding that safe attachment is the cornerstone of growth, my goal as a therapist is to create a space for you to experience acceptance, care, and security in the ways you may have longed for. I believe that the therapeutic experience is as unique as the individuals who sit before me, therefore, I encourage and embrace a collaborative approach to help encourage you to see your own unique strengths and abilities, from the inside-out.

My goal is to support you in living authentically with greater calm, confidence, and curiosity. To build compassion, security, and trust to share yourself with others and know you are worthy and deserving of being seen.

Individual Therapy

I aim to meet you where you are while supporting and guiding you through your own unique and individualized healing journey. I often think of the human experience as a puzzle and the more of the pieces that we can link together, the clearer we can see ourselves as a whole. Our lives are made up of many different pieces, and the more that we commit to connecting those exceptional and important pieces, the more that we can see and appreciate ourselves with the wider context of our precious identity.

Difficulties with life-transitions, interpersonal communication, boundary setting, self-esteem, limiting-beliefs and anxious and depressed feelings are often times rooted in past experiences – experiences where our need for comfort, validation, protection and/or encouragement went unmet.

Together, in a safe and nurturing space, I can help you to explore and identify moments of pain, validate your emotions, and help you heal from the inside-out. Sometimes we have parts that get stuck, frozen, or hidden away that need going back for. I can support you to give them a voice, process their experience, and help you unburden them of the hurts and mistruths they have been carrying.

As we make space for this process, I can also help your wounds and parts to reclaim their power, make the changes and adjustments they needed, and feel freed up to experience life in a new and more you-centered way.

Where you might feel worried about getting access to pain or old experiences, please know that we move through the process of healing in a thoughtful and paced way. I can help you attune to your protectors and protective strategies always gaining their trust and permission before we go deeper. Often times, therapy is not linear – it is filled with layers and pitstops – but I often find that it is within the process that we find clarity, insight, and deeper appreciation for who we are. I trust in your ability to move through hard things, in your way, and come out the other side.

I respect the vulnerability and strength that it takes to begin this journey and I am grateful for the opportunity to be alongside you in your journey of healing and growth. I am honored to support you in the process of integrating all of the pieces of your unique and wonderful puzzle.

My Background

I received my Master of Social Work degree from Adelphi University in Long Island, NY. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Virginia. For the past 4 years, I have provided individual therapy services to adults while working at a NY group practice.

I utilize evidence-based modalities, such as Attachment, Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Trauma-informed care, Internal Family Systems, and Psychodynamic Therapy to help you better understand how and why past experiences may be contributing to your current day-to-day stressors and difficulties.

I also integrate additional modalities and frameworks to ensure the most effective and individualized approach to meet your healing needs Together, we look at how we can acknowledge and validate the past, while focusing on and supporting the present and future.

I look forward to working with and affirming clients of all races, cultures, genders, sexualities, and abilities.