For Stacey, joining LGBT Life Center isn’t exactly a beginning. It’s a return. After first working with the Center during her counseling residency in 2016, she is back as our Director of Mental Health with more than a decade of experience, extensive training, and plenty of ideas for what comes next. Get to know Stacey, what brought her back, and the vision she brings to the future of mental health at The Center.
Name/Nickname: Stacey/Stace
Pronouns: she/they
Job title: Director of Mental Health
Where’d you come from and what’d you do there? I’ve been a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the state of Virginia since 2020 and have been providing individual and group counseling and mental health services for over ten years. I went to Old Dominion University for both of my graduate programs, receiving an M.S.Ed in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in 2015 and Ph.D. In Counselor Education and Supervision in 2018. I am an EMDR Trained Clinician and my research interests and areas of expertise include LGBTQ+ populations and intersectional identities, complex trauma, minority stress, and integrated behavioral health.
Most recently, I worked at the Hampton VA Medical Center for the Department of Veterans Affairs as the team lead for the southside Women’s Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program and LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinator, where I provided individual and group therapy services to special populations.
I’m here to help you with…Getting the mental health program in order! My hope is that the LGBT Life Center can continue its work while growing our ability to provide mental health services. I’m here to help create and nurture a trauma-informed, accessible, and equitable environment for both staff and our community.
How did you become interested in working at LGBTLifeCenter?
I’m what you might call a long-term boomerang—I worked with the center in 2016, when it was still the LGBT Center/ACCESS AIDS Care, providing individual therapy as a part of my residency as a baby therapist in the field. Fast forward to now and I’m back with training, experience, and a ton of ideas to give back to the place that was so formative to my development as a counselor and overall human being.
What’s an interesting thing about you that most people don’t know? I was born in Mumbai, India, back when it was still named Bombay. I’ve grown up in the US, and Virginia specifically, for pretty much my whole life, but I have a large family that’s spread out across at least 7 different countries and 4 continents! I don’t speak any other languages, but I have gotten better at cooking Indian food…
What excites you most about being at LGBT Life Center? I’m looking forward to bringing a mental health lens to the work we do here. In a climate that can feel increasingly isolating, I believe that taking care of one another and fostering healthy relationships is one of our most important responsibilities. I’m excited to be part of such an amazing group that’s so devoted to our community.
Rapid Fire…what is your favorite…
Animal: elephants, though I’m an animal lover all around!
Color: dark green
Song/Music: I’ve been loving this year’s albums by MUNA, Kacey Musgraves, and Madonna, but I tend to bounce around genres
TV Show/Movie: my favorite movie is Howl’s Moving Castle; most recently, I loved Widow’s Bay and am catching up on Hacks
Hobby: drawing/painting, baking, video games, gardening, LEGO…anything crafty and/or nerdy, I’m in.
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