Urielle (She/Her)

My experience of learning to live authentically as a queer person largely led me to this work. The journey began with a lot of complicated feelings and emotions like fear, shame, guilt, and just really feeling like something was wrong with me. I felt alone, and it seemed like following what my body and heart naturally wanted was wrong and unsafe.

I eventually learned that being my authentic self is indeed right, and what the world needs most from me. I came out as gay around age 18. Much later, my gender and life journey eventually led me to come out as a transgender woman.

Being queer in this society is full of twists, turns, ups, downs, fears, doubts, exploration, playfulness, pleasure, and learning. It has been my longtime dream to create a queer therapy space that affirms our diversity and reconnects us with our innate natural joy.

At some point in the early 2010s while walking on a quiet beach, I made the final decision that it was time to leave my job as a cellist in the Nashville Symphony to pursue a career in Social Work so I could become a therapist.

I chose Social Work in particular because of its focus on building on our strengths instead of pathologizing. At the same time, I love Social Work’s commitment to social justice and fighting all forms of oppression, including racism, ableism, misogyny, transphobia, homophobia, ageism, etc.

As a granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, healing our own trauma legacies and addressing our internalized oppression are central to my practice as a therapist, as is decolonizing mental health.

My work later led me to specialize in helping people heal from the effects of trauma, including anxiety, depression, PTSD, and addictions. I spent four meaningful years as a therapist at Nashville’s Sexual Assault Center before founding Healing Umbrella Psychotherapy in 2021.

Healing Umbrella Psychotherapy is an inclusive space where all of your identities, strengths, and vulnerabilities are welcome.

We use a trauma-informed approach that focuses on improving the present, while also addressing the root of the issue.

As an ADHDer myself, I also know how crucial it is for us to practice from a neurodiversity-affirming lens that harnesses and celebrates our greatest gifts.

And being sex-positive means that Healing Umbrella therapists affirm all expressions and experiences of sexuality, gender, sexual orientation, and consensual relationship styles.

I invite you to explore our website, our queer mental health blog, and click below to schedule your free phone consultation today!