Kristy (Kris) LaRocca, MA, LMHC (she/they)
Director, Supervisor, Therapist
Kris strives to provide a therapeutic environment where clients feel not only safe, respected, and non-judged but also truly seen and heard. She believes that securing a trusting and sincere bond with her clients is of utmost importance before any real therapy can begin. She works collaboratively with clients to help them understand themselves more deeply and evoke meaning in their challenges so that they can ultimately live life more fully and authentically. She provides the support needed for clients to begin taking steps outside of their comfort zones and toward facilitating the changes that they wish to see.
Kris considers herself a genuinely integrative therapist, often adjusting her style to fit each client and their unique and evolving needs. She experiences the mind and the body as intimately interconnected, and therefore takes a holistic approach with clients. With knowledge and training in mindfulness, somatic embodiment and regulation strategies, Kris incorporate the wisdom of the body in helping clients to find empowerment through building awareness. Rather than promoting unrealistic ideals of happiness, Kris works toward helping clients find wholeness in the present moment and meaning in their journeys.
Kris provides individual counseling and relationship counseling. She embraces diversity of all kinds and applies an inclusive, anti-oppressive lens to her work. Kris believes that we need to deconstruct in order to reconstruct, meaning we must examine with a critical lens what we've been taught about ourselves in order to liberate us to become who we truly are. to She has extensive training and experience working with individuals of many various sexualities, genders, and gender expressions and with clients who practice nontraditional relationship styles (such as polyamory and ethical non-monogamy).
Kris received her Masters in Mental Health Counseling from Brooklyn College and has taught psychology courses as an Adjunct Professor at Brooklyn College for several years. She completed her internship at the Institute for Human Identity, one of NYC's leading training programs for LGBTQ+ affirmative psychotherapy. Kris went on to serve the queer community in several other roles there as well; Staff Therapist, Director of the Intern Training Program, and Director of Professional Development through which she re-developed and virtualized IHI's LGBTQ+ Competency Course which trains other therapists and healthcare professionals to become more LGBTQ+ competent and affirming.
Kris provides individual and group supervision and consultation services to other therapists and professionals.