Ursula Spont (she/her)

I hold a degree in Counseling and Art Therapy from Eastern Virginia Medical School, and have over ten years of experience practicing therapy. Among my focuses of treatment are art therapy, trauma-informed practices, family systems approaches, perinatal mood disorders, CBT, self-advocacy/empowerment, and mindfulness/holistic tools. I work collaboratively with clients, and aim to keep them informed and empowered. Having a trauma-informed approach, it's vital for me that I stay current with the latest best practices in the fields of counseling and neuroscience, and use this to best enhance sessions. I incorporate a sense of humor when appropriate, and I find it vital to take into account the importance of systemic and sociopolitcal challenges that just cannot be ignored when we're talking about barriers to functioning well.

Over the years, I've had many clients say to me that they haven't sought therapy, or stopped going, because they felt judged, or guided to conform to societal ills. The history of counseling does unfortunately have a history of "keep you in your place" mentality, and it's really important to me that this doesn't happen in our sessions. On one hand, our sessions may certainly involve challenging oneself to make needed changes and develop confidence in navigating daily realities. But I also want to ensure a safe space is provided to validate and witness struggles caused by oppressive and unfair systemic issues in our society. I'm currently in process of pursuing further training and certification in Perinatal Mood Disorders, as advocacy and access to maternal mental health treatment for pregnant people and all involved is paramount.