Lindsey Boes (she/her/hers)

From an early age, women are taught to take care of others, feel unrealistic expectations for their bodies, careers, and family, and are targets of unwanted sexualization, leading to shame, fear, and anxiety. Therapy can help you connect with your Sure Self, manage anxiety, set boundaries with unrealistic expectations, and feel safer in your body. Many of the people I work with struggle with perfectionism, self-esteem, and burnout. You're not alone.

Calling all healers! This work is tough - I get it! Balancing other-care and self-care, constant compartmentalization of our own struggles, and connecting with loved ones without "doing therapy" with them is a lot to manage. I've worked with several clinicians at all stages of professional and personal life, from grad school to "experts" in their field (the quotes indicate my postmodern approach, not sarcasm). You deserve clinical space too!

As an HSP myself, I know how overwhelming the world can be. As an HSP-Knowledgeable Therapist, I can help HSPs self-soothe, self-validate, and create strategies for navigating a complicated and confusing world. There are great strengths in being an HSP that are often overlooked and undervalued by Western culture. Therapy can help increase these strengths while managing the struggles of being highly sensitive!

Narrative Therapy is based on the idea that our stories about ourselves and other people have a great influence on the way we experience the world, for better or for worse. Narrative therapists see their clients as the experts in their own lives and bring attention to cultural influence, such as toxic gender roles, perfectionism, and expectations. We reduce problem-stories (e.g., I'm not good enough) and support preferred-stories (e.g., I'm valuable and safe). Ask your therapist to learn more!

People have a lot of assumptions about what it means to be a feminist therapist. In reality, it means being curious about power dynamics (e.g., between partners, between cultures) and creating a new, preferred way of being in relationships with others and with ourselves. In sessions, I am often curious about who makes decisions, who takes on more of the work, and about my client's preferred values such as equity, love, compassion, and accountability.

Even when working with individuals, it's important to understand family dynamics. We are not completely separate from our families of origin (who we grow up with), despite our best efforts. Family therapists are curious about what you learned from your family about relationships, apologizing, gender roles, sexuality, apologizing, boundaries, and so much more. That doesn't mean every session is about your family, but when it's important we talk about it.