Who is Coriander?
I'm a licensed clinical social worker, therapist, and educator. I have a BA in Speech & Rhetoric from Penn State and a Masters of Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh.
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I've worked in mental health since 2008, and been doing direct practice therapy since 2014. Most of my clients I work with are in the kink or polyamorous communities, LGBTQ+, and people deconstructing or recovering from high-demand religious groups.
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I've been an adjunct professor at both the University of Pittsburgh and University of Utah, teaching classes on things I'm passionate about: human sexuality, couples counseling, spirituality, social justice, and the DSM-V.
My Story
Too much information about a therapist is weird, too little leaves us with a lack of confidence. The old school norm left the therapist as a tabula rasa: you would know literally nothing about them except their credentials and what you could observe from their clothing and appearance. I'm not old school, so I'll mention a few colorful details: I grew up on a dirt road in the high desert. I studied kung fu and Daoism on Mount Wudang in my early twenties. My most important mentors are Tibetan, Bhutanese, and Western Lamas in the Nyingma school of Buddhism.
Modalities:
Narrative, Rogerian (Carl Rodgers), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, DBT, classical behaviorism, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (Insoo Kim Berg / Steve Deshazer), Maria Piateti (the Milan Group).
Ideologies:
Buddhism has been my personal lifeboat and a source of endless joy and wonder. Humanism is my ideological ground--I believe in the potential of people, of relationships, of our innate wisdom.
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Thinkers and Doers:
Audre Lorde, Fred Rodgers, James Baldwin, Marcia P Johnson, Nestor Makhno, David Graeber, Harry Hay, Noam Chomsky, Mohandas Gandhi, Fred Hampton, the Black Panther Party.
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Creators and Dreamers:
Prince, Pablo Neruda, Hayao Miyazaki, Ursula LeGuin, J.R.R. Tolkien, Cormac McCarthy, Bjork, David Bowie.
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Spiritual Teachers:
St. Francis of Assisi, Nasreddin, Sera Khandro, Akka Mahadevi, St. Therese De Lisieux, H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Chatral Rinpoche, Suzuki Roshi.
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Contact
New prospective clients are entitled to a free 15-20 minute consult over the phone. I look forward to hearing from you!
412-204-7214