Vanessa Chambers

Life can be difficult to navigate and can bring challenges to finding safety and security within the spaces we are in. You may be experiencing the following: struggling with the instability created throughout the pandemic, or seeking support after coming out as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, or exploring the impact of your cultural identity, or low-self esteem and body image issues that have worsened. I provide an affirming and strength-focused space for you to be heard as you address any of these areas and more. I cherish a warm, collaborative therapeutic style that allows you to join in designing the path of exploration and goals that we work towards in our work together.

As a first-generation American from a black Jamaican household, I prioritize the intersectionality of culture and mental health as sometimes our environments have created barriers to accessing wellness. My focus lies with working with people of color, immigrants, and queer folx to hold and create space that leads to empowerment and healing through an anti-oppressive lens.

During my 7 years of living in New York, I gained insight on the meanings and hardship of being a “transplant” in a new city and finding new ways of navigating safety and wellness within one’s own body when the world was limited (before, during, and after the pandemic). I trained at The Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy’s in their Gender & Sexuality psychoanalytic program, focusing on supporting adults within the LGBTQIA+ community. My additional background in personal training has influenced my focus on also supporting adults with body image challenges and strained relationships with food.

I intentionally hold space for adult BIPOC folx, LGTBQIA+ folx, current and prior athletes, those experiencing life changes, and new parents. My style is warm, non-pathologizing, and empowering, with a bit of humor and a lot of realness. Trauma and PTSD, anxiety, depression, body dysmorphia, gender and sexuality challenges are all current areas of focus. I am fully trained in EMDR through the Institute for Creative Mindfulness. To support you in your healing journey, I utilize EMDR, Psychodynamic, mindfulness and movement, Attachment-based, IFS (Internal Family Systems), and CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) approaches.

My motto is COLLECTIVE UNAPOLOGETIC HEALING THROUGH FULL BODY WELLNESS, supporting adult individuals in understanding the connection between mental health and physical health through an anti-oppressive and empowering lens. We will laugh, we may cry, but nonetheless we will celebrate all your wins in your journey (big and small). TOGETHER we will address deep-rooted challenges, achieve mindfulness, and breathe life back into your body (literally!).

“Freeing yourself was one thing, claiming ownership of that freed self was another.” — Toni Morrison