Monique Noelle (She/Her)

I received my PhD in clinical psychology from UMass, Amherst in 2003, after my full-time internship at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. I completed my postdoctoral training jointly there and at Fenway Community Health, an LGBTQ+ health center. My published graduate research addressed the experiences of hate-crime victimization based on sexual orientation. My work as a therapist is informed by early training in both psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders and depression, including Dialectical Behavior Therapy. My approach draws from the applications of mindfulness and self-compassion in psychotherapy, as well as feminist approaches such as Relational-Cultural therapy. Ultimately, I believe it is the relationship that heals, as well as learning to be a kind friend to oneself. I believe that good mental health means knowing you have choices and making them consciously (not which choices you make).

My mindfulness work with clients, whether I am weaving it in or actively teaching meditation skills, is based in my own meditation practice and how valuable it has been to my own growth and development. Nature and friendships are what sustain me through hard times in life. I’m politically active and love a good phone bank come election time. I am a White anti-racist, a cisgendered trans ally, a thin person who supports Health At Every Size, and I follow the neurodivergent-affirmative movement. I work to maintain awareness of my own biases, and as a therapist, I validate the realities of oppression and internalized bias that my clients come up against.