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Get to Know Our Team

Contact us for a free consultation with any of our therapists.

Crystal Foster, LMHC

Founder, Clinical Director, Therapist

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Crystal has a passion for taking the mystery out of therapy. She has always believed therapy is for everyone and wanted to increase access to services. With this goal in mind, she founded Groundwork, a small group practice that makes the intake process easy and helps people connect with the therapist who is right for them. 

 

Crystal has worked in the fields of mental health, and substance abuse counseling, and with children and families who have experienced a traumatic event such as a sudden loss, or exposure to domestic or community violence.  Her most recent work has been building a program to provide  therapeutic support for First Responders through Groundwork Counseling.

Nancy Gearhart, LMHC, IMH-E

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Therapist adults, young children and families,  and children ages 2 and beyond. 

Specialist in Therapy for Therapists program.

Offers in-person and online sessions.

 

Nancy values making connections with the people she hopes to support through life decisions and changes. Because play is the language of very young children, she works within the tenets of Child-Centered Play Therapy. Through this method, she supports families as they work together to help the child make sense of sometimes difficult experiences. Nancy works with adults who may be dealing with devastating loss and trauma, as well as those who are coping with changing life stages.

 

Nancy is an adjunct instructor at the Warner School of Education, where she teaches Theory and Practice of Counseling to new counselor education students. In this way, Nancy hopes to share her experience and knowledge about working with children and adults in a strength-based, humanistic, and emotion-focused way.

Therapist for children ages 6 and up, teens, and adults. Offers in-person and online sessions.

Rachael comes from a breadth of experience, including perinatal mental health and lactation counseling, attachment parenting education, child and family mental health, substance abuse counseling, cognitive disorders, and adult community mental health. Within these contexts, she has treated mental disorders and emotional issues, including anxiety, trauma and stressor related disorders, mood dysregulation and disorders, grief, family functioning, psychosis, personality disorders, OCD, and gender dysphoria. Rachael is integrative and evidenced-based in her approach to both individual therapy and group therapy.

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Rachael Ross, LMHC

Michelle Summers, LMHC

Therapist for adults, children 0 and up, parent/child sessions. Offers in-person and online sessions.

Michelle’s professional journey has included being with adults, kids, and families struggling with life-shaking traumas, as well as those working through struggles with anxiety, depression, or daily life who strive for general wellness. Her most recent work has been with separated families working to repair relationships after trauma and loss. This included a specialty in working with expecting parents and parents of children ages 0-6. She  has also specialized with teens and young adults as they process complicated and changing eras of their lives. Michelle holds close to her heart a humanistic, trauma-informed, strength-based perspective with all ages.

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Priscilla Cortes, LMHC

Therapist for adults

First Responder Support Specialist

Offers in-person and online sessions.

Priscilla believes that the therapeutic relationship is the most important aspect of counseling. Key elements of that relationship are trust, empathy, respect and genuineness. She creates a safe  and open environment where clients feel comfortable sharing their struggles. She has had the opportunity to work in a variety of clinical settings with diverse populations where she provided therapy to clients who struggled with depression, anxiety, grief, trauma and adjustment disorders. Her areas of specialization include working with first responders. Priscilla supports clients with knowledge and guidance, while offering them the opportunity to practice new skills and gain insight and empowerment. 

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Jacob Vecchio, LMHC, NCC

Therapist for couples, adults, and teems ages 16 and up. 

First Responder Support Specialist

Offers in-person and online sessions.

Jacob is an experienced therapist, having worked with children, adults, couples and families.  His  focus is on providing an accepting and authentic space to promote healing and change.  He specializes in developing communication skills and healthy boundaries. By building coping behaviors and promoting self-care, he has helped many manage their depressive and anxiety symptoms. Jacob is a therapist who will support your decisions, while finding compassionate ways to challenge you to better yourself.

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Shanna Chepelsky, MHC

Therapist for adults

First Responder Support Specialist

Offers in-person and online sessions.

Shanna understands therapy, at its core, to be a conversation between two people about mental health. She believes anybody can benefit from having someone to talk things through with and offer an outside perspective. As a therapist, it’s her goal to work with clients to create a judgment-free environment where they can feel comfortable being themselves.
Shanna is passionate about working with athletes, First Responders, neurodivergent folks and those in the LGBTQ+ community. Her therapeutic focus includes processing life-changing events and trauma, relational issues, anxiety, depression and identity development. 

Independent Specialists 

The therapists listed below are independent contractors that we partner with to bring their expertise to specific programs. 

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Michelle Almeida, LMHC

Therapist for the First Responder Support Program and Therapy for Therapists.

Michelle understands that life can get overwhelming. At its core, she sees therapy as a place where we can sit down and sort through everything life throws at us. Her professional experience includes working with individuals processing traumatic events as well as people struggling with general day-to-day concerns. Her areas of specialization include helping professionals, such as therapists and first responders. As she builds a trusting relationship with clients, Michelle works to provide an opportunity for self-exploration, while offering genuine support and helpful feedback related to their goals.

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