Dese'Rae Stage

I am a queer, white cisgender woman living with chronic pain and a number of psychiatric diagnoses I both agree with and disagree with, depending on which. I have lived through infertility, miscarriage, complex grief, multiple suicide attempts, and I have lost many in my life to suicide. I currently spend much of my time in therapy processing my own trauma so that I can live my life more healthily and so I can serve my clients and community in the same way. It’s important to me to be transparent about my positionality, especially as someone who seeks mental health services—I know what it’s like to be in the chair and sitting across from it. My practice is trauma-informed, anti-oppressive, and person-centered. I do not believe I am the expert, and I come to my work with clients as a partner and a support. My specialties are in working with those experiencing grief and traumatic loss, anxiety, fertility challenges (especially as a visibly queer person), miscarriage, chronic suicidality, and self-injury. I approach my work through a relational lens, and I have an interest in narrative and Internal Family Systems frameworks.