ad astra per aspera
On our life’s journey, we may endure challenges, upheavals, and hardships. These moments in our lives can bring about great pain, confusion, and frustration - all of which can create barriers to living a life of fulfillment, growth, and stability. However, with intentional self-reflection, the building of hope, and the receipt of trust and support while navigating these moments, we can move through hardship and ascend into a life filled with joy and peace - “to the stars.”
The decision to seek therapy and counseling services is a very brave one. Taylor, the founder and owner of Ad Astra Counseling, recognizes the strength and courage it takes to seek help and support. Taylor holds a firm belief that her clients already have all the tools they need to live the lives they have sought to lead, it is simply a matter of uncovering these tools, refining them, and learning to use them in new and healthier ways. Through a combination of skill-building, solution-focused support, and psychodynamic processing, Taylor seeks to support her clients on their healing journeys - by helping them to understand their emotions and behaviors with new insight, improve their relational dynamics with others, and build a repertoire of coping and self-regulation skills for use in their everyday lives.
through hardship, to the stars
About Taylor
Taylor is a clinically licensed social worker, with over six years of experience in education and over 10 years of experience in the mental health field. With extensive training and education in child development and intervention, Taylor has focused her clinical work primarily with youth and families in a variety of settings, including intensive outpatient, residential community homes, outpatient, and schools. Taylor currently works full-time as the director of a school-based social work program, and has over five years of direct experience managing special education programming in a public school. Taylor has a passion for equitable access to education for all learners, and aims to bridge the gap between academic achievement and mental wellness in her work.
Therapeutic Orientation and Approach
Taylor uses an eclectic approach in her work with clients, providing a mixture of psychodynamic therapeutic work alongside solution-focused skill-building. In clinical work, Taylor prioritizes creating a space of healing centered on honoring the humanity, dignity, and experiences of her clients. Through use of somatic strategies, skill building in the areas of emotion regulation and relational patterns, creative therapies, and traditional talk-based work, Taylor aims to support clients in uncovering the root of the challenges they are facing, while simultaneously helping them to acquire skills and tools to navigate life’s ups and downs.
In her training and consultative work, Taylor focuses on helping systems and organizations to restructure their practices to align to trauma-sensitive principles. This includes training non-clinical staff and professionals on topics related to mental health, trauma-awareness, and crisis response and prevention. In the educational setting, Taylor aims to support school systems in building robust and effective counseling/in-school mental health programs.
Background and Training
Taylor obtained her Master of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania, with special concentrations in clinical practice and child development and welfare. She is clinically licensed in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and has extensive experience providing direct clinical services in residential, outpatient, and school settings.
Taylor has completed the Sand Play Therapy Certificate training program through Lighthouse Counseling & Sand Play Training Center in Eatontown, NJ, as well as the NASW 20-hour Clinical Supervision Certification. She has also engaged in training for clinical modalities such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT STEPS-A), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), and play therapy.
Credentials
B.S. in Psychology / Certificate in Women & Gender Studies | University of Pittsburgh
Master of Social Work / Home & School Visitor Certification / Concentration in Child Welfare & Well-Being | University of Pennsylvania
Certification in Sand Play Therapy | Lighthouse Counseling & Sand Play Training Center