Kayla Messinger, LPC, RPT (they/she)

Whether I am working with a small child or an adult, I believe that the healing process is a journey of discovering and returning home to the authentic self. I hope to walk along with you on this path, offering compassion, co-regulation, and a little bit of neuroscience psychoeducation along the way. I believe that, when we can lean into the understanding of our own unique neurobiology and how our thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and patterns have come to be, we may also begin to explore where we may have gotten stuck and how we can have a renewed access to the wisdom and assets that our bodies and nervous systems naturally possess. This is not only an introduction to my beliefs, but also an invitation to redefine what connection to yourself means and looks like by tuning into the body’s and the nervous system’s intuitive ways of healing.

What this can look like varies from person to person, as I strive for each therapeutic experience to be tailored to you. I use a variety of mediums and modalities to accomplish treatment goals based on individual needs, including interpersonal and psychodynamic processing, mindfulness, somatic practices, parts work, and EMDR. I also incorporate a variety of mediums to help facilitate self-expression, including play therapy, sand tray therapy, and expressive arts. Regardless of the tool or treatment used, I strive to foster a fundamentally accepting therapeutic relationship that feels safe and secure so that whatever needs to be confronted and integrated can be done so with care and respect.

I also practice as an LGBTQIA+, poly, kink, BIPOC, and neurodiversity affirming therapist. Our culture primarily centers on one type of lived experience with all others being perceived as a deviation from the norm. In my role, my hope is to see you as yourself with all of your facets and your identities acknowledged and honored. In this way, if desired, a space can be fostered where the experience of marginalization can be explored.

I am passionate about lifespan human development, so I enjoy working with infants/toddlers and their important adults, children through all phases of childhood, adolescents, parents, adults, and couples/families. I am also comfortable and eager to participate in coordination of care and to support integration between myself as a behavioral health provider and medical/psychiatric providers. I strive to see you as a whole person.