Kirsten Eid

LICSW (MA), LCSW (NY), ADHD-CCSP

I am a queer, neurodivergent, independently licensed clinical social worker in Massachusetts and New York. I provide individual therapy services via telehealth.

About

What lead you to being a clinician?

Due to negative experiences with mental health providers as a young person, I never imagined becoming one. When I first entered into the field of social work, it was to make impactful change for communities on a larger scale. However, a systemic issue I would witness across settings was lack of access to competent and compassionate mental health care to vulnerable and low income populations. As someone who has been harmed by medical providers in the past, I felt compelled to make a professional pivot and contribute to a shift in the expectations and attitudes of mental health providers. During the mental health shortage in 2020, I decided to take the plunge and switched to clinical work and have never looked back since.

What should someone know about working with you?

I’m consistent, genuine, and ask a lot of questions. I am able to balance being an active participant in conversation and knowing when it’s time to listen. I am happy to collaborate on “experiments” to do outside of session for additional growth, though it’s definitely not required and each person has their own preference for this. I use a lot of metaphors when explaining things and enjoy using humor when appropriate. I feel honored to be in the room with people who choose to be in the room with me and have a deep respect of the therapeutic space. 

How do your own core values shape your approach to care?

As humans, we learn to adapt as we experience things. Sometimes these adaptations can be helpful. If I step on something sharp every time I walk outside in bare feet, I might adapt to wearing shoes. This is a helpful adaptation. At other times, we adapt to the world in an unhelpful way which can present as barriers to reaching our goals. In this same example, if I adapt to stepping on sharp things by never going outside, this could become a big barrier to living my life. 

I believe that the lens of trauma causes resistance to growth. By recalibrating our trauma lens, we allow our brains to function more efficiently which gives more space for change. I believe that this is done through fostering curiosity and by shifting value judgments to a lens of cause and effect.