Authentic connection is my lifeblood, and I thrive by being in community. A major part of how we connect with others is through sex and intimacy. I’m super sex positive. You can bring your whole self to therapy without shame. I promise that you aren’t going to scare me away. I’m an ally of the LGBTQIA+ community and folx who may see themselves as different or on the outside.

I’ve experienced depression first hand and wrestled with how to move through the world when everything seems gray. I know what it is like to isolate myself and how it feels to stay in bed because my brain is telling no one wants to be around me.

I genuinely believe that humans do better when we lift one another up. I experienced this first hand when I had breast cancer at age 40. My husband, family, and friends came together to show me that my life mattered. I will always be grateful for their support. Coming through my cancer journey inspired me to become a psychotherapist.

Being a part of the cancer community, I have experienced deep grief and loss. I find it meaningful to work with clients who are experiencing grief and/or loss because I know how profoundly working through it can impact your life. Grief comes in many forms and is experienced uniquely by each of us, whether it is about the loss of a loved one, a fur baby, or the loss of a relationship or career. We define ourselves through our relationships with others, and those losses can bring our identities into question. Who am I without _______?

I enjoy working with life’s big existential issues. “Who am I? What is my purpose? What gives my life meaning? What can I make of suffering? Am I alone or part of a whole?” These questions often show up when the snow globes of our lives are shaken up by a divorce, a loss, a new baby, a new career, a medical diagnosis, etc. You don’t need to navigate it alone.

Rakefet Laviolette, LPC, MA

Licensed Professional Counselor # – 89241

Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Seminary of the Southwest, Austin, TX

Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Language and Sociology from Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA