Vanessa is an adventurer at heart- she values her unique journey to arrive at wilderness as much as she does the destination. Originally from Connecticut, Vanessa ventured to her favorite Northeastern state of Maine, where she received a BA from Bates College in Psychology and Spanish, concentration in childhood development, and minor in music. During this time, Vanessa also studied Indigenous medicine and conducted literary thesis work abroad in Chile and fell in love with South America. Vanessa’s desire to immerse herself more fully in a distinct culture and desire to seek and learn from newness of experience led her back to Chile and Peru, where she started her career as educator in 2012. Vanessa’s curiosity for the field of psychology drew her back to the U.S. in 2015. She delved into the field of mental health through taking on a teacher/counselor role at a therapeutic residential school in Connecticut, where she experienced the intensity, challenge, and fulfillment of working with a high-acuity population of adolescents. Vanessa soon took on the role of Residential Administrator, counselor, and advisor, alongside her career as teacher. Having discovered her passion of working with adolescents and families struggling with social, emotional, and relational challenges, Vanessa became eager to hone her skills in family systems work – being passionate that “problems” are not linear in nature, and that the family unit surrounding the individual is an essential component for sustainable change. Vanessa pursued her Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy from Southern Connecticut State University, where she further cultivated her enthusiasm and appreciation for a systemic approach. After having contributed her strengths to a singular therapeutic milieu for 6+ years, Vanessa was itching for new adventure: an opportunity to incorporate the therapeutic value of her favorite habitat with her passion for providing families with genuine and vulnerable experiences of connectedness and transformation. Vanessa joined the Elements Family Services Department as Family Focus Therapist in 2021.

Vanessa’s systemic lens attunes to the interactional nature of our selves and of our struggles. She believes wholeheartedly in the values of relationship and vulnerability as foundational components to change. She feels it is an impactful and humbling experience to be intimately entrusted in relationship with others as companion, guide, space holder, and supporter in their intricately challenging and beautiful process of “getting vulnerable” on the journey toward change. Vanessa is known for her compassionate nature and belief in her clients’ capacity for courage and growth in this process.

Vanessa brings an integrative approach to Family Focus at Elements. Her toolbox of systemic therapy tends toward evidence-based practices of CBT and DBT, attachment theory, EFT, and experiential modalities. Her work is infused by curiosity and creativity; any chance to incorporate art, music, animals, and movement into therapeutic experiences are joyfully embraced. When not in the Elements wilderness, Vanessa can be found in other outdoors: camping, mountain biking, traveling, and adventuring with her beloved dog Millie.