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Chloe Gerena, MHC-LP
She/Her/Hers
Chloe aims to create an open and safe space in her sessions, using empathy to meet the client where they are and to honor the person in their entirety, including the parts that we may have been taught to hide or be ashamed of. Her work as a therapist is deeply rooted in the recognition that mental health is intrinsically linked to interconnectedness and community, rather than in the historically individualistic Western perspective often associated with it. To quote the wisdom of intersectional, Black feminist author, bell hooks: “rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion.” Chloe holds this truth throughout her work with clients, actively seeking to join together and collaborate in forming a healing space with every person.
Chloe is a queer Cuban and Puerto Rican, American-born clinician from South Florida. She approaches therapy with an eclectic perspective, integrating an anti-oppressive, person-centered, and trauma-informed lens. In her work with clients, she draws from psychodynamic therapy, existentialism, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and Internal Family Systems (IFS). She completed her MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Northwestern University and received her BA in Government and Sociology from Wesleyan University. She has volunteer experience with Exhale Textline, providing non-judgmental support to individuals navigating a full range of feelings following their abortion experiences. She is interested in working with individuals feeling the effects of and who are being pushed to the margins of society at large, navigating the roles assigned to them throughout their lives, the systemic oppression they may be facing, and more. She believes in working to make mental healthcare more accessible for marginalized communities.