In our work together, I prioritize building a trusting therapeutic relationship. My communication style is warm, non-judgmental, and collaborative. I aim to create a space where you feel heard, understood, and empowered to make positive changes.

Hello, I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Virginia; I have 8 years of experience in the mental health field. I have worked with individuals with a wide range of concerns, including anxiety disorders, trauma, depression, relationship struggles, adjusting to life changes, grief & loss, personal development, self-esteem, and social skills development. My counseling approach combines Cognitive-behavioral, emotionally focused therapy, Dialectical behavioral therapy, positive psychology, and trauma-informed therapy.

I help individuals with issues such as depression, anxiety, relationships challenges, childhood trauma, stress, and families navigating behavioral issues. I teach my clients communication skills that improve their relationships. Those skills boost my clients' power and voice, as well as their intimacy with their significant others. I rely on a number of approaches, including Gestalt, psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, somatic experiencing, and experiential dynamic psychotherapy. I help clients dealing with traumatic stress reduce panic, pain, numbness and hyper-arousal in response to life and relationships difficulties. I combine calming and relationship skills to help children, adolescents, and young adults reduce family discord and ADHD, and increase self-efficacy. I help my clients navigate their behaviors, emotions, cognition, and physiology. I help couples and individuals explore the ways that small changes in attitudes and stances can nurture new ways of feeling, thinking, and being in the world. I help my clients find new solutions so they can connect with a sense of joy and competence.

I view psychotherapy as a collaborative process of self-discovery that is both supportive and directive. As many problems stem from either escalating emotions or efforts to avoid them, time is spent exploring and trying to understand your distress to help you create a more satisfying and healthier way of living. To inform my work, I draw from three areas of theoretical research: cognitive behavioral theory (skills-focused), attachment theory (insight-focused), and neuroscience research (psychoeducation-focused re: the mind-body connection and physical response to trauma). When we listen to our emotions without judgment and try to understand what they are telling us, more often than not, we can figure out what we need to regain emotional peace, balance, and life satisfaction. Many of my clients are highly successful on the outside; leaders in their field, individuals who handle intense and stressful jobs. They are the ones that other people look to for insight and guidance. But on the inside, these clients often carry a great deal of weight from past difficulties, including feelings of tremendous anxiety, self-loathing, shame, and low-grade chronic depression, because they have never received the expertise needed to truly overcome their past experiences and maladaptive coping strategies they have developed. I bring my 30 years of experience as a trauma researcher, clinician, teacher, and clinical supervisor to every one of my sessions. I find my work inspiring and a privilege. Through our work together, my clients find someone who has the years of experience and expertise to create the sense of security needed to explore and understand these difficulties, and finally overcome them.

Have you hit a wall with therapy? Are you struggling to find hope? My name is Mikayla, and I've lived in and around DC for over 22 years. I provide holistic therapy for individuals with and without ketamine. My clients struggle with PTSD, suicidality, depression, anxiety, substance use, and co-occurring conditions. I also work with couples struggling to resolve and repair conflict. All are welcome here! I have experience working with people who struggle to fit in, people who use drugs, and people in non-monogamous relationships. My perspective is relational and systems-based. No part of us is separate from the rest; we are inseparable from our environments and each other. If you decide to work with me, we'll start by exploring the dynamics of your relationships and the relationship you have with yourself. We can identify and build on your strengths, manage and release the manifestations of toxic stress through the body, improve your emotional capacities, and build stronger authentic relationships. My approach weaves embodied mindfulness, liberation psychology, somatics, trauma-informed care, polyvagal theory, education, sound, and, for those who choose this route, ketamine. There is no "typical" session with me. Each person is approached as a unique being with a unique story. I have real-world experience and extensive training in multiple compatible approaches, which allows me to pull out the right tool for the right person at the right time. I maintain a laser focus on your obstacles and protective barriers while holding a lighthearted space where we are free to laugh about the absurdity of life. I reject hierarchy in therapeutic spaces and hold us as equals sharing the beauty and pain of healing in the human experience. How we work together is guided by your understanding of what you need. I believe you have the capacity to heal yourself. My role is to approach you with a delicate balance of compassion and honesty, maintain a safe and comfortable environment, witness your process, and ask the right questions.

Do you have ruminations that are self-critical? Do you avoid going out or joining social activities? Or maybe you become overwhelmed by anger, fear, shame, dread? Life doesn't have to be that hard. I believe that our behavior patterns are old ways of surviving difficult situations. I bring years of personal and professional experiences and training to foster a safe and collaborative relationship to be curious about your responses, update your system, so to speak, and learn and practice new skills.

I counsel individuals, families, couples, and children. My specialties include depression, anxiety, trauma, self-esteem issues, relationships concerns, family conflict, and grief. My goal is to help clients better understand themselves so that they can improve their relationships and quality of life. I tailor my approach to the needs of each client, responding to their own unique challenges and personality. I do not use a one-size-fits-all approach. People sometimes struggle to understand their distress, behavior, and patterns. By offering a safe, thoughtful environment, I empower my clients to cultivate a deeper understanding of their feelings, thoughts, and behaviors, enabling them to identify the issues that undermine their quality of life. We live together in the same society, but we each experience life differently, and everyone faces challenges that can make leading satisfying and happy lives more difficult. Accessing your inner strengths is possible, and this empowerment can help to resolve your pain, suffering, and confusion.

My communication style is warm, open, and empathetic. I strive to create a safe space where you feel comfortable expressing yourself without fear of judgment. I believe in the power of active listening and am committed to understanding your unique experiences and perspectives.

My background is in existential and humanistic therapy aiding the client to increase self-awareness while developing acceptance, growth, responsibility, and freedom. I am trained in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) interventions. My therapeutic style is compassionate and free from judgment. I focus on growing a positive partnership to help you acquire the tools to resolve problems.

Be the best version of yourself. Through our partnership, I work with you to start living your best life now. 2025 is the year for you to explore, experience, and embrace the BVOY. Becoming the best version of yourself 'BVOY' is within your reach. An awareness that you deserve to live a life filled with purpose and being the BVOY is step one. The next step is unpacking your baggage and identifying, exposing, and working through your stuck points. Stuck points manifest in many ways, such as negative self-talk, self-doubt, self-sabotage, depression, anxiety, anger, stress, unresolved grief and loss, fears, and holding on to past hurts, disappointments, or toxic relationships. The BVOY is within you.

I began working in this field almost 30 years ago because I wanted to make a tangible difference in people's lives. Over the years, I have worked with countless individuals, couples, families, and groups to help them improve their quality of life. Through my experience, I have learned that: Although many may appear to be similar demographically in terms of age, race, gender, socioeconomic status, religion, etc., everyone brings hisher own individual histories to therapy -- histories that distinguish each client as a unique individual. As a result, I welcome all clients, and I recognize that each client will bring hisher own history and values to therapy. I commit to working within each individual's system of values as I try to help the individual draw from hisher history to improve hisher quality of life. My two primary metrics are: a) tangible improvements in an individual's life, and b) the individual's feelings and understanding regarding change and the process of change. Like physical therapists and coaches who are willing to challenge their athletes to perform at full potential, I am willing to challenge my clients to reach their full potential in life. But my guiding philosophy is: "challenge by choice" -- I will only as far and as fast as my clients are comfortable.

Thank you for considering White Cloud Therapeutic Services (WCTS). At WCTS we are committed to providing quality, evidenced based services with a premium on individualization and serving your personalized needs. We understand that choosing a therapist is a serious undertaking and can be daunting. We hope to help make this process easier by being here for you at every step. We will be happy to discuss your needs and how we can best help you to achieve your goals! We provide individual (adult and child) therapy, couples & family therapy, and group therapy. (Please visit Services for more information.) WCTS now has two physical locations in Williamsburg and Norfolk, VA. Additionally, we provide services throughout the state of Virginia via our telehealth options.