Isa I., MHC-LP
Psychotherapist
Pronouns: They/Them/Their
Howdy, I’m Isa! I’m a therapist heavily shaped by my identities as a queer, Black, non-binary, demisexual, neurodivergent (ADHD) polyamorous person.
My first career is as a social justice educator creating spaces of growing self-awareness, rest and community for BIPOC, trans folks, queer folks and allies in higher education. I’ve also been heavily informed by my own journey of unlearning internalized anti-blackness, transphobia, queerphobia, and mono-normativity. This journey has been informed by the wisdom of black, queer, trans and polyamorous communities–family, friends, lovers, partners, brilliant reflective folks I’ve followed and crossed paths with. Academically, I received my BA in Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies from Grinnell College, an MA in African American Studies from UCLA, completed extensive coursework in Social Justice Education at UMass Amherst. I completed my graduate training in Mental Health Counseling at Teachers College, Columbia University where I received a Masters of Education.
From this background, I have a rich (and constantly growing) understanding of how systems of oppression and socialization intersect and operate, both externally in our lives and internally within us. I love exploring how we can work to liberate ourselves from our inner critics, oppressive patterns of socialization, and ways of maneuvering the world we adapted to survive that no longer serve us and the goals we’re moving towards. I want us to be able to live the fullest lives we can. I started a second career to become a therapist because I wanted to understand how we heal, and to have the skills to not just help people understand how oppression and privilege relate to their experiences, but to help us heal from oppressive and traumatic experiences. I now meld this identity-based social justice work around self-awareness with mental health training focused on developing healthier and more loving relationships with ourselves and others.
I am driven to work with my communities—queer folks, trans folks, BIPOC, ethically non-monogamous, polyamorous and Relationship Anarchist folks, ace-spectrum folks, neurodivergent folks, allies/accomplices, and people who are driven by critical and feminist values in search of more authentic lives and more healthy and loving relationships to themselves and others. I am available and eager for working with the wide spectrum of mental health and relational issues that impact our lives and communities. I believe that while we don’t always have the power to change the external conditions of our lives, we can find ways to use our agency to experience freedom in relationships with ourselves and those who are important to us.
If you think we might be a good fit for working together, please reach out to schedule a consultation.
