Glad to meet you, I’m Tessa.
(she/her)
I am a licensed psychologist based in Washington, D.C. and Maryland. I earned my Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Florida, completed my doctoral internship at the University of Florida’s Counseling and Wellness Center, and a post-doctoral fellowship with an emphasis in clinical training and supervision at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
I have over 10 years of education, training, and professional experience in university, community mental health, and outpatient treatment settings. Prior to my career in private practice, I was a staff psychologist at the University of Maryland College Park where I provided individual and group therapy, crisis intervention, clinical training, community outreach, and consultation.
I work with adults who are navigating a wide variety of life stages and mental health concerns. I believe deeply in the healing role of an authentic and warm therapeutic relationship. It is an honor to support you in cultivating greater wellness in your life.
Compassion is shared humanity, kindness, and presence during moments of suffering.
My goal is to offer a compassionate and collaborative therapy relationship that can facilitate your wellness and healing.
I bring skills and expertise that can serve as essential guideposts during your therapy process.
I also bring my full and authentic self to our relationship, offering warmth, humor, and humility as we explore important steps in your life path.
I can help you to navigate a broad range of lived experiences, including multicultural concerns, LGBTQ+ concerns, family and relationship issues, personal growth and identity development, perfectionism, anxiety disorders, women's issues, or trauma recovery.
I use an integrative therapy approach to uniquely fit your needs as you grow and heal over time. I have found that blending interpersonal, psychodynamic, multicultural-feminist, mindfulness-based, and cognitive-behavioral perspectives tends to be helpful for many clients. I often introduce concepts from internal family systems (IFS) to support you in connecting more deeply with parts of yourself that may feel lost or burdened. I am committed to actively evolving and working from a diversity of clinical frameworks as a practicing psychologist — this benefits you directly when I bring new learning to our work together!
In our work together you can expect:
passion for helping you gain new levels of insight
active collaboration around creative ways to address your personal or professional concerns
mutual creation of a safe space to explore your important identities and cultural experiences
support around your development of healthy, fulfilling relationships
compassion toward your experiences of pain or struggle