About
Stacie Baker, LICSW- MA, VT
Mental Health Clinician
If you are experiencing thoughts and feelings that are challenging or troubling, you may be considering therapy. I am a Licensed Certified Social Worker whose expertise is providing therapeutic support and insight to people who are traversing difficult emotional journeys. I bring compassion and empathy to every encounter and deeply believe in the importance of creating a safe and contemplative space for people to articulate and process their concerns.
Countless components of our lives are beyond our control; through our work together, you will begin to develop a toolkit to use as a starting point for personal solutions and resolutions on your own path. I believe that each of us has the ability to use our personal and painful stories as a bridge to enable change. As people gain insight into themselves, their feelings and their behaviors, they may be able to explore new methods for growth, let go of past experiences, feel more grounded and become more connected with others.
How can therapy be useful to you? People grappling with life challenges often search for emotionally supportive and personally expressive outlets. The act of telling your story allows you to own it, re-examine your relationship to it, and therefore be more in control of it and thus potentially less emotionally troubled by it. As you learn about yourself, you may begin to identify the roots of your struggle, discover your strengths and engage in new behaviors. Collaboratively, we’ll examine your life, your values, your goals and your challenges. Challenges—and even painful experiences—can be opportunities for understanding and growth.
I currently work with young adults, adults and couples, inclusive of gender identity, sexuality, cultural identity and ethnicity. My practice focuses on relationship issues, conflict and communication issues, life transitions, life satisfaction, anxiety, depression, couple’s issues, identity issues, stress management, and fertility challenges/pregnancy loss. I use a variety of techniques including CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) and DBT-informed (dialectical behavioral therapy) approaches to help develop coping strategies.
A Bit more
I am a clinical social worker who is deeply committed to the idea of collaborative work as a bridge for transformation. I hold a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Columbia University. Prior to graduate school, I earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Boston University. The initial part of my career focused on women’s health, fertility challenges and couple’s counseling, all of which drew on my psychotherapeutic training. Connecting with individuals and couples was valuable work for me. Helping people pinpoint, examine and address their difficulties was important and satisfying, both for myself and for my clients.
The majority of my clinical work at that time was to support people struggling to create families. Over the next few years, as I continued counseling people facing fertility challenges, my work expanded to include the emerging arena of fertility preservation/egg freezing. Often, life-cycle challenges led individuals to experience feelings of anxiety, depression, guilt, and isolation. People with partners almost always felt that their relationship was impacted by their fertility struggle, as it challenged long-standing beliefs about themselves and their future. Therefore, seeing couples became another component of my work. I also facilitated groups for people struggling with infertility, including groups for couples and groups for people who had experienced miscarriage.
Enabling clients to identify their own authentic values is a principle of my practice. Routinely, I found that the best way that I could support my clients was to enable them to figure out what was the right choice for them when facing a difficult situation, taking into account their background, identity, and treatment needs. I believe that each of us have different ideas, ideals and pathways, and engaging an individual to define these concepts for herself/himself is both a pillar of my work and a critical step on the journey towards change.
In time, l began leading groups for teen girls focused on issues of self-esteem, social challenges, academic stressors, sexual identity, gender identity and relationships. I enjoyed working with adolescents; I valued their honesty, I was impressed with their commitment to inclusion and social equity, and I respected the unrelenting struggles that countless teens face. After six years facilitating groups, I realized that I wanted to practice psychotherapy exclusively with individuals and couples, which l My Place Counseling. I welcome the opportunity to work with a variety of clients inclusive of gender identity, sexuality, racial, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
I believe that themes such as anxiety, depression, isolation, disconnection, life transitions, and loss are universal. Each of us struggle with painful events and life circumstances. Creating space to pursue understanding, insight, and growth will be our first step; change and healing can then begin in the context of our work together, as we identify strengths & set goals to enable you to experience a more productive and satisfying life.
Your life can change: counseling can help you to discover the resources, obtain new skills and enhance your capabilities to address your challenges.
Additional info about me: I enjoy cooking and baking desserts. I love taking walks when it’s snowing. I’m on an eternal quest for the perfect chocolate chip cookie.