Robin DeBates (she/her/hers)

Smart people try to solve problems. Sometimes when we try to solve problems they get better. And sometimes even in spite of our best intentions, those problems just stay stuck. What I've found over years of helping people getting out of the Swamp of Sadness or the Pit of Despair is not that we lack desire. It's that we, like TARDIS pilots, sometimes need a helping hand to get where in time and space we're trying to go. Helping people understand themselves and how to get out of our own ways is easier than containing a warp core breach or taking that darn ring to Mordor already. Whether you're having a hard time implementing habit routines that serve your best self, or struggling with the loneliness of being Data in a world full of human emotions, we will figure out concrete ways to help you feel and function better. My goal is to make myself obsolete in your life by helping you uncover, acquire, and successfully deploy the skills that help you get where you want to be.

I'm an interactionist. From things as small as genes to as large as explicit and implicit social structures, our wellbeing derives from the interaction of our personal biology and chemistry, our awareness of ourselves (psychology, or headology if you are a Pratchett fan), family and social interactions, interface and influence with social systems and their institutional biases (education, law enforcement, health care, etc.), and the culture(s) and times in history in which we live. You'll hear this zooming in and out in most conversations we have. After growing up in Minnesota, I lived for 17 years in the Pacific Northwest before moving to Philadelphia, which I say has "grown on me like a benign tumor." I'm an inveterate learner of just about anything, and strong supporter of self-determination, anti-racism, radical inclusion, social and restorative justice, sustainability, and joy.