BIPOC Therapists in Boston Area Via Telehealth and in-person in Western MA

Mayrena is an immigrant originally from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She moved to the USA in 2005 to pursue her master’s degree. Mayrena has a BS in Clinical Psychology from Universidad Católica Santo Domingo and a MS in Mental Health Counseling from Fitchburg State University. Mayrena worked for many years in outpatient community mental health before starting her private practice in 2015. Mayrena founded Colorful Resilience LLC in February 2022 in order to help meet the outpatient mental health needs of the various communities she has been providing services to throughout her career. Mayrena identifies as Queer. She lives with her child in Western Massachusetts. Mayrena speaks openly of all her intersectionalities in order to normalize conversations about them.

“All of my different identities paint a picture of who I am. I am proud of every single one of them”, she says.

Fun fact about Mayrena: “English is my second language and to this day I can read an email multiple times and still manage to send it out with a few spelling mistakes. It’s embarrassing, but I’ve learned to live with it. I call myself The Typo Queen!”

Holly (she/her) was born and raised in Connecticut and moved to Massachusetts in 2015 to begin her career. She received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Central Connecticut State University. She earned her Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling from Teachers College, Columbia University and is now a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. Holly identifies as queer and she specializes in working with people within the LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) community. She has seven years of experience working with people who are questioning their identities, navigating a gender transition process, and those who seek a safe space to be their authentic selves and work on challenges that impact their mental health. Holly does not work exclusively with the LGBTQ+ community and brings multicultural competence to working with clients of all identities.

Fun fact about Holly: She has a dog named Sadie who is an Australian Cattle dog mix and is learning to garden!

Elizabeth (Liz) identifies as a queer, anti-racist, human of Mexican descent. Elizabeth is deeply invested in the radical liberatory power of healing intergenerational trauma. She believes that unjust, oppressive, harmful systems have left scars on us all. When we choose to invest in our own therapy/healing work, the benefits can be passed on like an heirloom. Elizabeth knows that everyone has the right to be themself, work with what they have available to them, and ask for help integrating their inner world with their outer world. Elizabeth’s commitment to non-violence means doing the on-going work of understanding and disrupting the cycles of violence that exist.

Elizabeth appreciates working with a variety of people, a variety of gender expressions, a variety of life stages, primarily adolescents and adults. Part of becoming a therapist is her endless interest in the human condition. She says, “Growing up in the midwest suburbs of Detroit, I didn’t have a strong sense of belonging. I felt like an outsider a lot of the time. When I was first introduced to therapy as an adolescent, that safe, secure relationship helped me explore parts of myself and expanded my meaning of belonging. Everyone wants to belong!”.
Elizabeth completed a masters degree in social work at New York University in 2007, practiced social work in urban hospitals and schools for many years while living in Brooklyn, until deciding to explore a different quality of life in Western MA. As a resident of Western MA since 2015, Elizabeth loves living here.

Fun facts: Elizabeth enjoys art, music, yoga and nature in her free time. As a parent of two young children, she also enjoys rest and coffee.

Originally born in the Philippines, Vaughn grew up in upstate New York and spent much of their adulthood in Salt Lake City, Utah. They moved to Western Mass in 2019 in order to pursue rural life with their cats Florence and Clementine. Vaughn is neurodivergent, queer, and non-binary. They received their bachelor’s in International Studies from the University of Utah and a Masters in Social Work from Smith College. Additionally, they are certified as a yoga instructor (RYT-200) through the Yoga Alliance as well as being in mentorship with meditation teacher Devon Hase. 

Vaughn began their career working with individuals struggling with substance use disorders. They also worked in crisis, hospital, and community mental health settings before beginning private practice in 2020. These days, they specialize in offering therapy to the LGBTQ community in addition to folks practicing non-monogamy and the kink community. They also have extensive experience treating complex trauma, including religious trauma. In addition, Vaughn enjoys supporting clients with regard to ADHD and autism. They work with individual adults, older teens, couples, and groups. As a therapist, Vaughn seeks to create a space where the entirety of the individual can safely unfold and be witnessed. In their spare time, Vaughn studies Hindi, Urdu, and French.

Ariana (she/they) is a neurodivergent, queer social worker who has worked in the field of mental health for over ten years and has focused her work on communities that are historically marginalized, as well as those who have faced a number of socio-economic barriers within society. She received her bachelor’s degree in Human Services at Fitchburg State University and went on to earn their Master’s degree in Social Work at Salem State University. As a social worker, Ariana believes that the systems in society have created long-term harm to everyone who is part of society and that, through radical work, these systems can be undone, both on an individual, internal level, and within society. To do this within their practice, they take on a trauma-informed, feminist, anti-oppressive lens while also holding the understanding of the mental health system and the oppressive harm it has brought onto folks – both historically and today. As a result, she is mindful of her practice being a collaborative effort, with the client being empowered to enact and learn to live in our world in a way that they feel supported and cared for. 

Ariana’s clientele focuses on folks who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community, and those who practice non-monogamy, along with folks with have chronic illnesses or who are disabled (physically or cognitively), those who have experienced religious trauma, and individuals who struggle with anxiety and trauma, with their clientele being aged 13 and older. 

Fun fact about Ariana: In her life so far, she has had a pet fish, a gecko, a dog, and two rats.  She hopes to one day own a farm that she can grow food on and have a host of farm animals, including cows, chickens, and goats, while also being able to offer therapy and a place for queer folks to come, feel safe, and commune with nature.