The Climb Counseling
Fat Liberation
Brainspotting
Queer & ND Affirming
"I built this practice for the folks who no longer want to try and figure it out alone. It's ok to ask for help & lean on community."
- Stephanie Hardison, LCSW (she/her)
Anime & Gaming Informed
Trauma Informed
Now accepting new clients. Individual therapy for adults and teens (13+) in California, Colorado & Connecticut. Self-pay, OON, INN Kaiser NorCal & CA Aetna accepted.
You might be in the right place if this sounds familiar.
Adults seeking their own healing
You're Latine, BIPOC, queer, neurodivergent — or some combination. You may be the first in your family to go to therapy. You carry your family's weight alongside your own, and you're tired of performing. Maybe you've been in therapy before and felt like you had to educate your therapist before you could even start.
Parents supporting their teen
You want your kid to have the support you never got. Maybe your teen is struggling with identity, body image, anxiety, or feeling like they don't fit in anywhere. You're not sure how to help — but you know you want someone in their corner who actually gets their world, including the games, the fandoms, and everything that makes them who they are.
The things people bring into my office
that they've never said out loud.
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You've been told your sadness or anxiety is "just" about your weight — and you're done being dismissed that way
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You're the first in your family to go to college, get a "real job," or seek therapy — and it feels lonely being that person
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Your body has been a battleground your whole life and you're exhausted from the fight
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Your family loves you but doesn't fully understand your identity — queer, neurodivergent, or otherwise
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You feel like an imposter in the spaces you've "made it" into — work, college, family gatherings
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You were the "gifted kid" and now you're burnt out, exhausted, and wondering where you went
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You've been strong for everyone else for so long you don't even know what you need anymore
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You love anime, gaming, or niche things — and you've spent your life being made to feel weird for it
How We Can Work Together
Individual Therapy Sessions
A focused, collaborative space to work on your current challenges using tailored approaches that honor your whole experience.
$200
50 min · Ages 13+
Extended Therapy Sessions
More room for deeper somatic and emotional work — useful when you want to really immerse and go somewhere new in a single sitting.
$400
120 min · Ages 13+
Therapy that works
with your whole story.
I'm a queer, first-gen daughter of immigrants, an LCSW, a Brainspotting Practitioner, and a committed fat liberation therapist. My lived experience isn't a footnote in my work — it is the work.
That means you don't have to translate yourself for me. You can talk about generational trauma and also about what arc is hitting you this season. You can be angry, grieving, confused, or all three. Your body is not a problem we're trying to fix here.
I blend talk therapy with Brainspotting — a somatic method that reaches the parts of your nervous system words alone can't always touch. Together, we'll work on what you came in with and the roots underneath it.
Brainspotting
A somatic method that processes trauma stored in the body — going deeper than talk therapy alone can reach.
Fat Liberation Psychotherapy
Actively rejects diet culture. Your body is not a problem to be solved — we redirect that energy toward what actually matters to you.
Culturally Responsive Care
Your cultural context, family dynamics, and community aren't background noise — they're central to how we work together.
Gaming & Anime-Informed
Your interests are part of who you are. We speak that language here, and can use it as a bridge into deeper work if it fits.
Steps to get you started.
1
Request a free consult
Fill out the short form. No pressure, no commitment — just a first step to see if we're a good fit.
2
We talk for 20 mins
You share what's going on. I share how I work. We figure out together if this feels right for you.
3
We start, at your pace
All sessions are virtual. Monday through Friday. You don't have to know what to say first — just show up.
