Rowan Crawfish ,Licensed Professional Counselor, ATR-P, NCC

My Approach to Helping

More Info About My Practice

I recognize that chronic illness impacts more than just the physical; it affects your mental health, relationships, identity, and daily life in ways others may not understand. Together, we’ll navigate the emotional toll of living with a chronic condition (or a dozen), process medical trauma, unpack internalized ableism, and explore ways to advocate for yourself while honoring your body’s needs. Most importantly, this is a space where you are believed, supported, and empowered to move through life in a way that works for you.

Medical trauma isn’t just about life-threatening emergencies or major procedures—it can happen in routine check-ups, minor interventions, and any medical experience where your autonomy was ignored or your consent wasn’t fully considered. Maybe a doctor dismissed your pain, performed a procedure without explaining your options, or made decisions about your body without truly involving you. Even seemingly “small” violations can leave lasting emotional and physical scars, especially when they reinforce a pattern of being unheard or disrespected in medical spaces.

Neurodivergent individuals, including autistic folks and folks with ADHD, experience medical trauma at significantly higher rates. Sensory sensitivities, communication barriers, and a history of not being taken seriously can make medical settings feel overwhelming or even dangerous. Research has shown that autistic individuals are more likely to experience PTSD symptoms, often due to distressing medical interactions and a lack of consent-based care. If medical settings feel unsafe to you, that response makes sense—it’s not in your head.

For neurodivergent clients, I take a fully affirming, non-pathologizing approach, recognizing that many struggles come not from being neurodivergent but from living in a world that doesn’t accommodate you. We might explore masking, sensory needs, executive functioning challenges, or unlearning internalized ableism, always with the understanding that you don’t need to change who you are to deserve support.

I specialize in working with late-diagnosed autistic and auDHD folks who are navigating the realization that their past experiences, struggles, and coping mechanisms make so much more sense in light of their diagnosis. This can bring relief, but it can also bring grief—grief for past needs that went unmet, for the ways you had to force yourself to fit in, or for relationships that didn’t survive once you started showing up as your full self. Together, we’ll process that grief, unlearn harmful narratives, and explore ways to advocate for yourself while embracing what truly works for you. This is a space where you are fully seen, understood, and supported exactly as you are.

You don’t have to explain or justify who you are here—you are already seen, believed, and valued exactly as you are. 2SLGBTQIA+ affirming therapy isn’t just about acceptance; it’s about actively supporting you in your identity, your experiences, and your right to exist fully and unapologetically.

Living in a world that isn’t always safe or affirming can be exhausting. Maybe you’ve been dismissed, invalidated, or forced to navigate spaces where you felt unseen or unsafe. Therapy with me is a place where you don’t have to hide parts of yourself, soften your truth, or wonder if you’ll be judged. This is a space where all of you are welcome—your identity, your relationships, your experiences, your emotions, and your story.

Specific Issue(s) I'm Skilled at Helping With

-Do you have a chronic illness or six and feel like no one understands your lived experience?
Does it feel like people have stopped inviting you to things or that your connections with people are fading away?
Are you feeling isolated with your chronic illness?
Are you tired of being gaslit at medical appointments?
Are you exhausted from bouncing from one appointment to the next and trying to juggle life and family as well?
As a clinician who not only has worked with many chronically ill folks but is also chronically ill and has a dynamic disability, I get it, and I see you.
I can help you regulate your nervous system, find more peace day to day, get out of the boom-bust cycle, find joy, continue pursuing your hopes and dreams in a way that feels possible, advocate for yourself, accommodate yourself, and find community.

-As a 2SLGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent clinician, I provide affirming and person centered support. I specialize in assisting late diagnosed neurodiverse adults learn how to accommodate themselves and build self compassion. I offer affirming exploration into neurotypes. In my work with 2SLGBTQIA+, chronically ill, and neurodivergent adults navigating CPTSD, I center self-compassion, healing, and grief processing through an integrative approach. Using attachment-based therapy, I help clients understand relational patterns, rebuild trust, and strengthen their connections with themselves and others. Art therapy offers a space for creative expression beyond words, allowing for the processing of trauma, loss, and identity exploration in ways that are consent based and autonomy affirming. Empowerment and advocacy are woven into every session, ensuring clients feel seen, validated, and supported as they navigate systemic barriers and reclaim their narratives. Holistic practices, including mindfulness and somatic awareness, provide grounding tools to foster emotional regulation and deepen self-compassion. Through a social justice and attachment-based lens, I create a therapeutic space where clients can honor their grief, reconnect with themselves, and move toward healing.

-CPTSD: If you're living with Complex PTSD (CPTSD), you might feel like your past is still running the show whether it's through overwhelming emotions, self-doubt, relationship struggles, or patterns that feel impossible to break. Healing isn't about forcing yourself to move on or reliving everything all at once. It's about creating a safe, steady space where you can gently untangle the impact of long-term trauma without judgment, without pressure, and without having to go through it alone.
CPTSD isn't just about what happened to you it's also about what didn't happen. The love you didn't receive, the safety you weren't given, the validation that never came. Trauma, especially when it happens over time, shapes the way you see yourself, your worth, your relationships, and the world around you. Together, we'll explore these patterns and begin to rewrite the story in a way that centers self-compassion and empowerment.

-Women's Empowerment: Reclaiming Your Voice, Your Space, and Your Power
As women, we're often taught to shrink ourselves to prioritize others, silence our needs, and second-guess our instincts. We're told to be agreeable, accommodating, and selfless while carrying the weight of unrealistic expectations. Therapy is a space where you can begin to unlearn these messages, reconnect with your voice, and step into your power unapologetically.

-Art Therapy & Creative Expression
Healing doesn't always happen through words. Creative practices like drawing, painting, and journaling can help you explore your emotions, process trauma, and reclaim your identity in ways that feel intuitive and freeing.

-Fat liberation Oriented Therapy
Fat-liberation oriented therapy is about creating a space where you don't have to justify your body, your experiences, or your worth. It actively rejects diet culture, weight stigma, and the idea that your value is tied to the size of your body. Too often, fat people are dismissed, shamed, or made to feel like their struggles aren't valid unless they're trying to shrink themselves. This therapy is the opposite of that, it's a space where you are seen, respected, and supported exactly as you are.

This approach acknowledges the harm of anti-fat bias, medical fat-phobia, and the emotional toll of existing in a world that constantly tries to shrink you. Together, we work on unlearning internalized shame, reconnecting with your body in a way that feels safe, and building self-trust and self-compassion. Whether you're navigating medical trauma, body image struggles, or just need a therapist who gets it, this is a place where your lived experience is honored, your body is never the problem, and your healing isn't dependent on changing who you are.

-Trauma Informed Therapy
Trauma isn't just about the big, obvious events it can be the slow erosion of safety, the feeling of never being truly seen, or the weight of carrying too much for too long. It can come from childhood neglect, chronic invalidation, systemic oppression, medical trauma, or relationships where you felt unseen, unheard, or unworthy. Whatever your experience, your pain is real, your responses make sense, and you deserve a space where you feel safe, believed, and in control of your healing.
Trauma-informed therapy isn't about forcing you to relive the past or rushing your healing. Instead, we move at your pace, prioritizing safety, trust, and choice every step of the way.

My Role as a Therapist

You deserve a space where you feel seen, heard, and valued exactly as you are. A space where your identity, emotions, and lived experiences aren't questioned or dismissed but honored and validated. Affirming, empowerment-based therapy isn't about fixing you or telling you what to do, it's about supporting you in reclaiming your voice, your autonomy, and your sense of self.

For many, the world has sent the message through systemic oppression, invalidation, or past relationships, that they need to shrink, hide, or change to be accepted. Therapy is a place where we challenge those harmful narratives and work toward healing in a way that feels safe, authentic, and truly yours.

What This Looks Like in Our Work Together

Honoring your experiences without judgment, your story matters, and you don't have to justify your feelings or your existence.

Rebuilding self-trust by unlearning shame, self-doubt, and the pressure to meet others expectations.

Developing tools for self-compassion, boundaries, and emotional regulation so that you feel more grounded and in control of your life.

Exploring the impact of oppression and systemic barriers while centering your resilience and agency.

Creating a path toward healing that feels right for you because empowerment isn't about fitting into someone else's version of success, but about defining what it means for yourself.

This is your space to show up fully, be exactly who you are, and take up the space you deserve without apology. Healing isn't about becoming someone else; it's about reconnecting with who you've always been. And you don't have to do it alone.

On the Fence About Going to Therapy?

This is not traditional, old school, therapy. Therapy with me is about the power of the therapeutic relationship. Here, we show up as ourselves. If you are looking for a therapist you can have a genuine therapeutic relationship with who responds with emotion and not as an emotionless blank slate this is the place for you. Here, I fidget, stim, craft, and swear along side you. I show up as myself so you can show up as your self! Tattoos, piercings, and casual attire are welcomed and appreciated here. I walk alongside you on your journey, give encouragement, challenge you when needed, celebrate your wins and support you when things don't go the way you planned. I provide oodles of resources and will guide you in exploration of how various systems are impacting you. I believe you are the expert on your life and lived experience and I am here to help you see the knowledge you already hold! Therapy with me is collaborative and views you as a whole person. Here, you can show up as yourself and find support where you need it most.

Had a Negative Therapy Experience?

Here, you don't have to justify your feelings or prove your pain I believe you. Healing starts with feeling truly understood, and that's why I listen not just to reply, but to get you. You are the expert on your own experience, and I am here to walk beside you, creating a space where you can show up fully, without fear or judgment.

I provide person-centered, social justice-based, and affirming counseling, integrating a variety of approaches, including ACT, DBT, attachment-based therapy, emotionally focused therapy, art therapy, and other holistic modalities. My clients leave therapy with greater self-compassion, a deeper awareness of their strengths, improved emotional regulation and grounding skills, stronger self-advocacy, boundary-setting, and communication abilities-all while feeling truly seen, validated, and understood.

You've been searching for a place where you don't have to explain yourself where you can show up exactly as you are and feel truly seen, understood, and supported. If you've ever felt dismissed, invalidated, or like therapy wasn't built with you in mind, you're in the right place.

I get what it's like to feel out of place in traditional therapy spaces. Maybe past therapists didn't understand your neurodivergence, minimized your trauma, or failed to affirm your identity. Maybe you've been told you're too much or that your struggles aren't big enough to deserve care. But here, you don't have to prove your pain or justify why you need support. You belong here.