THERAPISTS

Gabrielle (Gabby) Katz is the Practice Owner of Coastal Collaborative Care. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in Virginia. She is also an approved LCSW supervisor for those working towards clinical licensure in the state of Virginia. She received her Master of Social Work (MSW) from the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn).

Due to her extensive experience working in eating disorder treatment centers, she received the designation of a Certified Eating Disorders Specialist and approved Supervisor (CEDS-S) from the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (iaedp). With this designation, Gabby can supervise clinicians looking to get their eating disorder specialist certification through iaedp. Since joining the iaedp team in January 2021, Gabby has had the honor of being the Coordinator of Certification Services.

Since 2014 Gabby has worked with clients in the most vulnerable stages of their eating disorder treatment process in higher-level-of-care eating disorder treatment settings – inpatient, partial hospitalization programs, and intensive outpatient programs. Gabby started off as a Clinical Therapist, moved to a Program Manager, and concluded her time in higher-level-of-care settings as a Program Director. Gabby opened her own private practice to help her clients with the initial stages of treatment and to be able to support them in maintaining long-term recovery in their real world.

On top of her extensive higher level of care eating disorder treatment experience, Gabby was the Board President of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, National Capital Area Chapter (AFSP NCAC) from 2014-2018. Through AFSP NCAC and LivingWorks, Gabby received her certification as a safeTALK trainer. Gabby continues to provide suicide education and prevention trainings, and trainings on different topics related to eating disorder education, to communities in the DMV area.

Kelsey received her Master of Social Work (MSW) from Loyola University Chicago. Kelsey has extensive experience working with survivors of trauma in several settings, which has contributed to Kelsey’s belief in providing trauma-informed care to every individual she works with.

Kelsey has completed Phase I Certification for the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT™), which Kelsey uses to identify interventions and explain the neuroscience behind behaviors. Kelsey believes in understanding how a person’s individualized experiences in life impact their unique behaviors and identity.

Kelsey’s clinical experience includes working with adolescents and adults in settings which include mental health inpatient, eating disorder partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs, as well as in school and legal settings. She has experience in helping clients navigate through eating disorders, trauma, substance use, anxiety, suicidality, and other mental health concerns.

Kelsey is passionate about empowering clients and their loved ones as they navigate the road to living their most fulfilling life. Kelsey aims to create a safe and supportive environment where clients can be heard without judgment. She is passionate about hearing an individual’s story from their point of view, and working side-by-side to overcome life’s challenges. 

On top of all the diagnoses that we specialize in, discussed in our ‘Services’ page, Kelsey also specializes in the treatment and care of those with neurodiversity, and those individuals who seek help during or after leaving intimate partner violence.

A fun fact about Kelsey is that she loves knitting and crocheting. The cool thing about this is that Kelsey not only uses it as her own self-care, but she also likes to use it in sessions with her clients. Kelsey has taught numerous clients how to crochet in session. Kelsey’s trauma-informed therapy and neuroscience specialization help her incorporate crocheting as a tool of bilateral stimulation. Bilateral stimulation is stimuli (visual, auditory or tactile) which occur in a rhythmic left-right pattern. This allows for activity in both sides of the brain which helps clients with better emotional processing and regulation. Bilateral stimulation has four main effects: 1) a relaxation effect including decreased physiological arousal, 2) increased attentional flexibility (thoughts become less ‘stuck’), 3) distancing effect (the problem seems smaller and further away), and 4) decreased worry. 

Kelsey is a TRICARE non-participating certified provider.

Kianta received her Masters in Counseling with a concentration in mental health from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Kianta has always had a strong passion for understanding and helping those struggling with mental health conditions. Kianta is passionate about helping her clients empower themselves, to stand in their truth, while building a life worth living.

Kianta has extensive clinical experience working with adolescents and adults struggling with eating disorders, depression, anxiety, trauma, and substance use/abuse. Before her transition to eating disorder treatment, she worked in a community mental health setting serving individuals with severe and persistent mental health concerns, individuals and families who are homeless, Veterans, and youth. Her eating disorder treatment experience started in 2018 and spans across numerous settings which include inpatient (hospitalization), residential, and partial hospitalization. 

Kianta provides a safe space for her clients to open up, to feel heard, and to be supported. She is trained in cognitive processing therapy (CPT) and utilizes this trauma-informed modality to help her clients understand, challenge, and modify their unhelpful beliefs related to the trauma. Kianta is a realist. That is one of the things she loves about therapy. She loves helping her clients accept a situation as it is and learn to deal with it accordingly. She strives to help her clients find a path of healing, enlightenment, and empowerment to love themselves beyond their current challenges, and to accept themselves as they are in their challenges.  In polyvagal theory, we teach a concept called glimmers. Glimmers are the opposite of triggers. Glimmers are anything and everything that you see, smell, touch, hear, taste or do that cue safety, connection, peace, and calmness. Actively noticing glimmers, or participating in activities and practices that bring you calmness and joy, can reduce emotional triggers. Outside of the therapy office, Kianta loves running, mindfulness practices, breath work, and photography. When partaking in these activities, Kianta is present, at peace, grounded, and connected to herself, others, and the world around her. Kianta helps her clients find their own glimmers, their own hobbies, activities, and moments, that bring them a sense of peacefulness, safety, and connection in all of life’s messiness.

Jennifer (Jenn) received both her Bachelors in Sociology and her Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Marymount University. Jennifer has extensive experience working with clients who struggle with eating disorders, addiction, depressive disorders, and anxiety disorders. Jennifer has worked in a variety of settings, including: general mental health inpatient; an eating disorder residential treatment center; in-home services; outpatient services where she helped clients facing homelessness, clients experiencing crises including suicidality, and clients with severe mental health diagnoses. 

Jennifer is passionate about helping clients discover the tools they have always had within themselves. Jennifer believes the client is the expert in their own life and uses a person-centered approach in her work. Jennifer also uses evidence-based and solution-focused interventions in her work with clients. She has a passion for Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help patients shift negative self talk and improve adaptive coping skills. Jennifer likes to get creative in her therapy sessions and with her interventions. She uses tangible interventions like cognitive behavioral therapy thought logs, self-soothe boxes, coping skill lists, and journal prompts for additional self reflection. Jennifer believes that learning doesn’t stop when the session ends. These tangible skills are transferable to the real world where they are tested and tried throughout the week. On top of this, Jennifer loves to read with her clients. She calls it her “mini book club” with her clients. This process helps extend the client’s learning, processing, and reflection. It could be a book related to eating disorder recovery, dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) practices, or something else that is related to what the client is working on. Jennifer will find the book, they will read it together outside of sessions, and then part of the session can be used to connect the book to the therapeutic work they are doing together. 

Jenn is a TRICARE non-participating certified provider.

Marissa received her Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Mary Washington and her Master’s in Social Work (MSW) from George Mason University. Marissa has extensive experience working with clients who struggle with eating disorders, depressive and anxiety disorders, chronic pain, grief and dementia. Before her transition to eating disorder treatment, Marissa worked in a variety of settings, including: home-based and facility-based services to older at-risk individuals including hospice and grief counseling. She followed her passion for therapy and recovery by  transitioning to eating disorder treatment – working in both intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization programs with the goals of providing an empathetic, genuine and constructive space for growth and healing.

Marissa strives to empower clients and their loved ones to take back ownership of their lives by assisting them to find and utilize the strengths they’ve always had within themselves. She strongly believes her clients are the experts in their own lives and can experience healing and personal growth through regaining self-efficacy in their own abilities. Marissa utilizes evidence-based modalities of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and motivational interviewing to assist clients in addressing negative thought patterns, gain acceptance towards themselves and increase their tool box of helpful coping skills. Marissa wholeheartedly endorses the importance of the therapeutic process and relationship between clinician and client. She prides herself on always providing a safe, nonjudgmental space allowing clients to reach their fullest potential.

Fun fact, Marissa was a drummer for 10+ years and loves incorporating music into her therapeutic practice. Marissa has developed and led multiple music therapy groups and is hoping to become a trained music therapist in the future. Having an educational background in Psychology and Neuroscience, Marissa understands that music can be a powerful coping skill and it has also been known to improve mood, reduce pain, and stimulate neuroplasticity, the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization.